Phillies get great news on Zack Wheeler amid progress on injury recovery

This upcoming season for the Philadelphia Phillies is a big one. While the team is aging, this iteration of the roster might be in its final days as a World Series contender.

They need the most out of their players, and a big component of that will be the return of Zack Wheeler. He's missed a lot of time due to thoracic outlet syndrome and is now working towards a return to the mound.

And according to MLB.com's Todd Zolecki, the Phillies ace made a significant stride in his recovery, giving the Phillies some great news as the regular season approaches.

Phillies get great Zack Wheeler recovery news

"Zack Wheeler will throw his first live BP (bullpen) on Saturday," Zolecki reports. "Another step forward for him. He's progressing well."

Wheeler is still not ready to pitch in a game just yet, but being able to pitch in a live bullpen session, with hitters at the plate, is a good sign for the ace right-hander.

This means that Wheeler is taking a big step in his recovery, facing live hitters as he makes his way back towards the Major League roster and a spot in the rotation.

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The 35-year-old right-hander, when healthy, is one of the best pitchers in baseball. Since coming to the Phillies in 2020, he's posted a remarkable 2.91 ERA across 157 starts.

Last season, before his scary thoracic outlet syndrome diagnosis, Wheeler was putting together another strong season. He had a 2.71 ERA in 24 starts, and was already named an All-Star and had a 5.0 bWAR in early August.

While it's been a long road to recovery, and he still has a ways to go, this report from Zolecki that Wheeler will have a live bullpen session is great news for the Phillies and Wheeler as Opening Day approaches.

More MLB news:

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• Dodgers’ Roki Sasaki will return to rotation, not bullpen according Dave Roberts
• Konnor Griffin projected to make Pirates Opening Day roster by two analysts
• Alex Cora announces Caleb Durbin is Red Sox starting third baseman
• Joey Wentz is out for the season with a torn ACL for the Braves
• Reds’ Hunter Greene to be out until July amid brutal injury news
• Braves predicted to trade Bryce Elder for Lars Nootbaar