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Not long after Zack Wheeler had undergone a thrombolysis procedure to remove a blood clot near his right shoulder, his longtime agent tried to crack the pitchers steely exterior.
The clot could have formed in his heart or his lungs last August.
Wheeler could have faced grave issues if not for the immediate medical assistance.
There was another surgery to come and a long recovery ahead.
Advertisement You know what he wanted to talk about? B.B.
Abbott said.
Ill have enough starts, Ill get my innings, I want to get back and win the World Series and win a Cy Young.
There was no doubt in his mind that he was getting back to this level.
None.
Zero.
He thought this was just like, you know, he broke his arm.
It never dawned on him that he wasnt going to continue doing what he had done the last 10 years.
At all.
It is why Abbott was incensed Saturday night when Major League Baseball revealed its All-Star Game rosters.
Wheeler, who owns a 2.36 ERA in 13 starts (80 innings), has returned to his prior form after thoracic outlet syndrome.
Hes been one of the best pitchers in the sport.
He was absent from the National Leagues All-Star roster.
Its just tone deaf, Abbott said Sunday, a day after the announcement.
I think the whole thing is tone deaf.
The Phillies are well represented with five players selected for the first Midsummer Classic in Philadelphia since 1996.
One of them, Bryce Harper, was chosen by commissioner Rob Manfred as a Legend pick.
Cristopher Sanchez might start the game for the National League.
Harper and Kyle Schwarber could take center stage in the Home Run Derby.
Wheeler was not among the top five NL starters on the players ballot.
He would not be eligible to pitch in the All-Star Game if he makes his scheduled start for the Phillies on Sunday.
He technically could still be named as a replacement, but it would require Wheeler to commit to throwing an inning in an exhibition game two days after starting and less than a year removed from two surgeries.
There are All-Star snubs every year.
The top of the NL starting pitching field is particularly strong this year.
Complaining about selections is an annual rite of passage.
To Abbott, whose job is to advocate for his clients, this transcended that.
Hes been an agent for more than 25 years and cannot recall speaking on the record during a season about one of his players.
Advertisement Chipper Jones didnt make the All-Star team the year he won the MVP, and I didnt say boo about it, Abbott said.
Right? Its just not who I am.
Abbott is one of a select few who have intimate knowledge of what Wheeler faced throughout his recovery; the 36-year-old pitcher has declined several times to expand on it in detail.
It is why inside the Phillies organization from teammates to coaches to staff there was deep disappointment that Wheeler was not honored.
Many of them have witnessed up close his resurgence after a serious injury.
Wheeler, who ranks first among starters in fWAR since 2017, has held hitters to a .580 OPS this season.
That is fourth in the NL, behind Jacob Misiorowski, Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
Wheeler does not yet have enough innings to qualify for the ERA title.
If he did, he would rank sixth in the NL.
Major League Baseball knows, said Abbott, an executive vice president at The Team.
Everybody knows what hes been through.
And to not do what you needed to do to let this guy be honored in his home ballpark, its ludicrous.
He knows Wheeler wont have much to say about it.
Even in the Phillies dramatic season arc, Wheeler is sometimes overshadowed.
Don Mattingly is 41-21 as interim manager, a rise that has merited national attention.
Wheeler made his season debut two games before Rob Thomson was fired as manager.
The Phillies have won 11 of Wheelers 13 starts.
Hes boring, Abbott said.
You know? Hes boring.
He just goes out and does his job.
And hes the best pitcher in baseball, the last six, seven, eight, nine and 10 years, honestly.
He goes out and does his job.
And for whatever reason, hes just seen as this not marketable player by the game.
I just dont understand it.
Some of these guys we just take for granted until theyre done.
But hes 36 years old, coming back from a surgery that you just do not come back from as an elite pitcher.
You just dont.
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And the guy that has been consistently great, for whatever reason, he just gets overlooked.
And, quite frankly, disrespected.
To Abbott, the league had an easy choice: It could have named Wheeler to the initial roster, then immediately replaced him.
That way, Wheeler could participate in the All-Star ceremonies with his family and be honored during introductions at Citizens Bank Park for his first-half performance and his comeback.
Although the league seeks to recognize the best first-half performers, it wants to select pitchers who will actually pitch in the game.
Those two goals are increasingly at odds.
Wheeler is a three-time All-Star.
Players view that designation as an honor, something that goes next to their name when theyre done playing.
Across the league, Wheeler is held in high esteem.
Joe Ryan, an All-Star starter for the Minnesota Twins, cited Wheeler last week as a model for how to evolve with age.
Seeing someone like that, whos arguably the best pitcher in the game the last five years, hes just been able to keep guys off balance with a huge arsenal, Ryan said.
And still lean on the heaters whenever he wants.
Wheeler is making $40 million this year and next; it could be his final contract.
He is the highest-paid pitcher in the sport.
The last thing I want to do, Abbott said, is for somebody to look at this and go, Oh, Zacks complaining.
Why is he a baby? Hes getting paid $40 million a year.
The Philadelphia Phillies organization has acknowledged who Zack Wheeler is.
One hundred percent.
..
Other people, specifically in this case Major League Baseball, havent really acknowledged it.
Wheeler might not show any outward frustration.
So, Abbott will.
Theyre going to think that Im grandstanding and on a soapbox, Abbott said.
Quite frankly, I dont care because its the right thing to do on this particular player.
To be able to come back from something that not a lot of players can come back from and certainly cant return the level of excellence that he has it shows a real lack of acknowledgement by Major League Baseball to what hes done up to this point.
Dan Hayes contributed to this report.