Zack Wheeler has a skeleton in his closet. Or at least, part of one.
The Phillies ace right-hander told reporters on Wednesday that he got to keep the rib that was removed as part of his thoracic outlet decompression surgery last September, and he keeps the bone in a closet in his house.
“They give it to you after the surgery,” Wheeler said of the grisly keepsake. “The doctor walked in … he was like, ‘I wanted to give it to you personally,’ so he just walked in and gave it to me in a bag.”
Now one rib lighter, Wheeler will continue his recovery from the September procedure, which is expected to keep him out past Opening Day. The 35-year-old went 10-5 with a 2.71 ERA in 2025 before the thoracic outlet syndrome diagnosis ended his season in late August.
