Phillies star Zack Wheeler begins treatment for 'scary' diagnosis that left his teammates praying for him

Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Zack Wheeler has undergone a successful thrombolysis procedure, which removed a blood clot from his right shoulder on Monday, the team announced. 

Thrombolysis is a 'treatment that dissolves blood clots to restore normal blood flow. This approach is used in emergencies, such as heart attacks, strokes, and severe blood clots in the lungs or legs,' per Penn Medicine. 

The procedure was performed by Dr. Paul DiMuzio at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in downtown Philadelphia. 

Wheeler's timeline to return to the field and treatment for the procedure has yet to be determined. 

News broke of Wheeler's condition on Sunday, with fellow starter Taijuan Walker saying, 'It's obviously scary. ... Obviously, we're praying for him, trying to keep in contact with him. But I know that he knows we're all here for him.'

Wheeler is considered the Phillies' ace on the mound, with him needing time away from the team drastically shifting the trajectory of the baseball season.  

Recovering from the thrombolysis procedure varies per patient, with Penn Medicine recommending the 35-year-old 'avoid strenuous activities', which could end his 2025 season.  

Wheeler has been enjoying a late-career renaissance with the Phillies since December 2019 and is a three-time All-Star, including each of the last two seasons. 

Before that he played for the division-rival New York Mets. Wheeler spent five seasons in total with the Mets, missing both the 2015 and 2016 seasons after undergoing Tommy John surgery.

'There's not a whole lot we can say on it at this time,' Phillies GM Dave Dombrowski said Sunday, 'but I commend [head athletic trainer Paul Buchheit] and the doctors for finding this because it could've been a much more trying situation than what it is.'  

Buchheit confirmed that the clot is located in Wheeler's throwing shoulder.

The pitcher initially had a start in August pushed back due to shoulder soreness before making two on-schedule appearances. But, he noticed a decrease in his velocity and only tossed five innings on Friday night against Washington. 

'Zack had been feeling better after his right shoulder soreness, but yesterday some symptoms had changed,' Buchheit said. 'He felt a little heaviness. The doctors here were great in helping to diagnose and expediting that diagnosis this morning.'  

Other teammates of Wheeler's have spoken out on his impending absence, including star slugger and NL MVP front-runner Kyle Schwarber.

'I shot him a text,' said Schwarber. 'Sounded like everything was getting the tests done and things like that. It's a scary situation, right? … Just want to get him back in here and hear from him. 

'Hopefully, it's not anything too serious. I don't know what the prognosis is going to be or what they're going to have to do. I don't know if it's surgery. 

'I don't think anyone knows right now. … But get him in here and get him healthy. I think that's the biggest thing.

'Baseball is baseball. When it comes to someone's health like that, we need him healthy first. He's got a family, so we want to get him feeling good for them and get him back to speed whenever we can.'