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Girardi, Dombrowski on Starting Rotation: Will Zack Wheeler be Ready for Opening Day?
For the first time in what feels like a decade, the Philadelphia Phillies will have five major league-caliber starters on their roster for Opening Day. However, they might not all be ready to pitch by April 8.
Most surprising is Cy Young runner-up Zack Wheeler. Wheeler was nearly flawless in 2021, avoiding injury and pitching to a 2.78 ERA over a league-leading 213.1 innings. But that innings total might be what sinks the big right-hander for the beginning of the season.
First on Wheeler’s list of offseason tasks in 2021 was recovery. In today’s era of baseball, pitchers throw harder, but less often than they did even a decade ago. Wheeler regularly hit 100mph on the radar gun and managed to shoulder a workload even Roy Halladay would be proud of.
One potentially reassuring bit of news from Phillies President Dave Dombrowski yesterday was that “[Wheeler] is always slow to get ready for the season.”
Wheeler knew he would be somewhat behind on his conditioning, but due to the lockout, he was unable to communicate that to Phillies staff.
“That’s just how he is,” said Dombrowski. “He doesn’t throw much before he gets here. Everything is fine from a health perspective.”
Whether or not Wheeler is the Opening Day starter now rests in his hands and his ability to reach regular season strength in just three weeks.
The Phillies released some concerning news Sunday about Aaron Nola too.
When talking about the little things, Phillies manager Joe Girardi had mentioned he noticed that “Nola’s hair is shorter.”
Other than that, Dombrowski was straightforward regarding the Phillie veteran, “Nola’s here ready to go.”
The story was the same with the Phillies fifth starter, “[Kyle] Gibson’s here, he’s ready to go,” said Dombrowski.
The story begins to get more complicated with Ranger Suárez, who’s still in Venezuela. He does have his visa, but he’s not yet received his passport. According to Dombrowski, “that could take a couple more days.”
The Phillies hope Suárez will be up to speed by the time he arrives at Phillies camp, but the current timetable for his return isn’t entirely clear.
Fortunately, the Phillies know they have an adaptable product in Suárez. His ability to move from follower, to setup, to closer and finally starter at the end of 2021 proves Suárez will have the skill to succeed when called upon.
Lastly, the Phillies have gotten positive results from Zach Eflin since spring camp has begun.
Girardi went as far to say, “We’re extremely excited where [Eflin’s] at.”
Dombrowski mentioned that Eflin’s thrown numerous bullpens already, but he hasn’t begun taking fielding drills yet. Nevertheless, the Phillies president thinks “the anticipation is very encouraging about him being ready for the season.”
In fact, Dombrowski believes that all of his starters will be ready for Opening Day.
“We feel comfortable that they’ll be ready [for Opening Day].”
Of course, this statement could be a ploy not to tip his hand to fellow NL East opponents, something Dombrowski’s been willing to do before. But he also said that starting depth doesn’t concern him. The delays on Wheeler, Suárez and Eflin were worth mentioning, but if the Phillies brought in extra starters for Opening Day, “It wouldn’t be due to that.”
If spring training goes well for the Phillies, fans needn’t be worried about the starting rotation, it’s already one of the best in baseball.
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