Phillies agree record extension deal with ace pitcher
Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Zack Wheeler has agreed terms for a three-year contract extension running through 2027 with the Major League Baseball club, the team announced on Monday. The deal is worth US$126 million and will give the 33-year-old American right-hander the highest average annual value for an extension in MLB history at US$42 million, according to a posting on the team's website. Wheeler's inaugural Phillies contract signed in 2020 was for five years and US$118 million after he had spent five years with the New York Mets. "All the wins, all the innings that he has logged over that time, all the big games that he has pitched – he has been worth every penny," Phillies manager Rob Thomson said last September of the Georgia native. Wheeler is 43-25 with a 3.06 earned-run average and 675 strikeouts over 101 starts with the Phillies. His ERA ranks fourth in MLB over that span while his strikeouts rank seventh. In the MLB playoffs the past two campaigns, Wheeler has posted a 2.42 ERA over the past two post-seasons. But the Phillies have been unable to capture their first World Series title since 2008, falling to Houston 4-2 in the 2022 World Series and losing to Arizona in last year's National League Championship Series. (AFP)