Phillies adjust rotation with Zack Wheeler expecting baby No. 4

The Phillies rotation is getting a bit of a shake-up this week — but for good reason. Zack Wheeler and his wife, Dominique, are expecting their fourth child any day now, so the team is adjusting accordingly.

Wheeler was originally set to pitch Tuesday in Toronto, which would have also kept him on track to start the final game of this week’s road trip in Pittsburgh. But with baby No. 4 on the way, the Phillies are giving their ace some well-deserved family time.

If you want the real source of this news, it comes in the form of a clip of Zack Wheeler dancing with his very pregnant wife on TikTok. I’m not making that up — here’s the link: Wheeler dancing on TikTok. We are deep in the 2025 baseball news cycle, folks.

Phillies adjust rotation with Zack Wheeler expecting baby No. 4

ZACK WHEELER????? 😭😭😭😭 pic.twitter.com/OxMnYql6HU

— tricia. (@trishadelphia) June 2, 2025

Updated: Phillies Rotation for the Blue Jays Series:

Tuesday – Cristopher Sanchez
Wednesday – Mick Abel (second big-league start)
Thursday – Jesus Luzardo

With an off-day Monday, Sanchez and Luzardo can stay on regular rest. Abel fills the middle game while he continues to take Aaron Nola’s rotation spot — Nola remains sidelined with an ankle sprain. He could need another start or two before returning. Taijuan Walker has officially shifted to the bullpen for now.

As for the offense, the Phillies are riding a four-game losing streak into Toronto, and they badly need a boost. The good news? Bryce Harper could return to the lineup after missing five straight games. Harper was drilled in the elbow by a 95 mph fastball last week and has been working back slowly, hitting in the cage over the weekend.

Mick Abel is back in the Phillies’ rotation, Bryce Harper expects to play Tuesday

This won’t be an easy series — the Blue Jays have won five in a row and have been raking lately, scoring 39 runs in their last four games.

No Wheeler makes this matchup tougher but hey, babies before baseball. If all goes to plan, the Phillies will get both Zack Wheeler back and a new addition to the Wheeler family sometime this week. In the meantime, we’ll see if the current rotation shuffle can help stop the bleeding and right the ship in Toronto.

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