Wheeler, Middleton discuss how the $126M extension came together

CLEARWATER, Fla. — Zack Wheeler has an uncommon routine for a starting pitcher.

The afternoon of his starts, he'll walk to the dugout around 2:30 p.m. and just look out at the field. He'll watch the grounds crew do its work or players go through early infield practice. He stands against the ledge and takes it all in.

Observing it, you sense someone trying to appreciate the moment, knowing it won't last forever. Wheeler is still in his prime, even at 33 years old, having reached that level a bit later than most. He knows that he won't have these same experiences 10 years from now. He might not even have them five years from now, by choice.

Wheeler, who had been set for free agency after 2024 until officially signing a $126 million extension with the Phillies on Monday, did not want to sign long-term with any team. He and his representatives made clear to the Phillies when contract negotiations began that he was seeking two or three years. He never asked about an opt-out.

"That's what Zack wanted," owner John Middleton said. "We talked two years versus three years, not three years versus six, seven or eight. I mean, that was never on the table. They just said here's what we're thinking if it's a two-year deal and here's what we're thinking if it's a three-year deal. And we said OK, we'll do the two or three years. We like the three-year deal better, frankly."

The extension was worked out nine days before it was announced, back on Feb. 24, the day of the Phillies' first spring training game. The timing wasn't random. Wheeler's wife, Dominique, was due with their third child in just a few days so he was set to leave camp. And everyone wanted a deal to get done before the season.

Wheeler returned to Phillies camp on March 2, took his physical and signed on the dotted line. He's a Phillie through the end of 2027 on a three-year extension that makes him the fourth-highest-paid player in MLB history on a per-year basis.

"I'd rather it happen now than go to free agency and who knows what's going to happen," he said. "I'm happy in Philly, it's a first-class organization and I wouldn't want to be anywhere else than pitching in October at Citizens Bank."

As for the short-term nature of the contract …

"I do enjoy pitching and I want to be here, I love competing, but I don't want to play until I'm old-old," he said. "I want to be around my family but I'm definitely enjoying the moment here and enjoying every moment I take the mound. It's special. Not everybody gets to do it. Not everybody gets to do it as long as I have so far.

"My outlook on it, I don't want to be old-old out there maybe not doing my best, what I'm used to doing. I think it works out for me, I think it works out for the team, I think we're all in agreement on that."

Once the Phillies knew they were talking two or three years, it became a matter of finding the right annual average salary. Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander had AAVs of $43.3 million on two-year deals. Jacob deGrom is earning $37 million per year over five years. Gerrit Cole makes $36 million annually on a nine-year deal.

Wheeler's side looked at Scherzer and Verlander as the comps. Those two had accomplished more than Wheeler in their 20s, but Wheeler's the most effective of the group now and proved in the postseasons of 2022 and 2023 that he can make as much of an impact on a big game as any player in the majors.

"Zack really wanted to pitch here and we obviously really wanted him to pitch here," Middleton said. "You just find a way, you just have to kind of get it done. It was like when we signed Bryce (Harper), there were numbers out there that if you were really going to consider signing Bryce, you just had to understand you'd be at a certain number. You weren't going to get him for $200 million or $250 million.

"I think he's probably the single pitcher I'd want on the mound in the seventh game of the World Series or any kind of deciding playoff game. And you know what's out there on the market. You weren't going to get him for $35 million. You weren't going to get him for $37.5 million. It had to start with 40. The question is where is it over 40? And that's what we came down to. Obviously you have the Verlander and Scherzer contracts as a comp, and they've had many better years early in their career, but if you go back to when they signed those contracts, Zack is as good today as they were then."

When you total the two contracts Wheeler has signed as a Phillie, it adds up to $244 million over eight years, just a hair over $30 million annually. Consider that Scherzer signed for $210 million over seven years — $30 million annually — all the way back in 2015. The Phillies have derived tremendous value from Wheeler.

"I don't think there's been a better pitching contract in baseball in a long, long time," Middleton said. "Scherzer's seven-year deal with Washington? Probably the last obvious one to me that you could legitimately point to and say, 'There's a guy who performed.' What did he win, two Cy Youngs with Washington, as I recall, and one before he got there? I mean, a spectacular contract. And he's a spectacular pitcher. And if he doesn't get elected unanimously on the first ballot, I think whoever doesn't vote for him should lose their ability to vote. But you know, post-Scherzer's contract with Washington, it's hard for me to think of another contract (that's better).

"It was a great contract. I'll just make a point: Matt Klentak was the general manager who got both Bryce Harper and Zack Wheeler. So, whenever you want to write about what Matt did and didn't do here, you've got to start with, he signed probably the best pitcher in baseball and arguably one of the greatest position players in baseball one year apart. I mean, that's a heck of an accomplishment."

Some teams shied away from signing Wheeler after the 2019 season because of his injury history and inconsistent performance. He missed all of 2015 and 2016 with an elbow injury that required Tommy John surgery. He was excellent in the second halves of '18 and '19 but hadn't shown that he could do it for a full year.

The Phillies made a calculated gamble ahead of 2020, guaranteeing Wheeler $118 million over five years. They thought he could be, at worst, a low-end No. 2 starter, and at best, a No. 1. What's happened has exceeded the expectations of everyone involved.

"Just health, being healthy," he said. "I haven't always had that consistency, whether it's command, inning to inning, game to game. I just feel like I'm in the right spot right now and I'm able to go out there and do well every time.

"I've got to give credit to our training staff keeping me out on the field. And Caleb (Cotham), our pitching coach, has helped me out a ton offspeed-wise and just kinda taking me to that next level, doing it consistently in-season, postseason. I love those big moments. I really just enjoy being here."