Zack Wheelers agent rips Phillies stars tone deaf All-Star snub

Zack Wheeler’s absence from the 2026 MLB All-Star Game isn’t sitting well with some folks.After Wheeler wasn’t named to the National League’s All-Star roster for the Midsummer Classic at Philadelphia’s Citizen’s Bank Park despite an impressive comeback from thoracic outlet syndrome, his agent B.B.Abbott ripped the snub. “It’s just tone deaf,” Abbott told The Athletic Sunday.

“I think the whole thing is tone deaf.” “Major League baseball knows (about Wheeler’s injury recovery),” he added.“Everybody knows what he’s been through.

And to not do what you needed to do to let this guy be honored in his home ballpark, it’s ludicrous.” Wheeler’s Cy Young-caliber 2025 season ended abruptly in August after the discovery of a blood clot near his right shoulder. Following thoracic outlet surgery in September, Wheeler missed the first few weeks of 2026 before returning April 25. He’s been just as dominant as he was before the injury. Across 13 starts this season, the 36-year-old has gone 8-1 with a 2.36 ERA and 0.93 WHIP.He also has 84 strikeouts in 80 innings. Wheeler has also held hitters to a .580 OPS this season, ranking fourth in the NL behind All-Stars Jacob Misiorowski, Shohei Ohtani and Yoshinobu Yamamoto. But it still wasn’t enough for an All-Star bid, as Wheeler wasn’t one of the five NL starting pitchers on the players’ ballot. “They’re going to think that I’m grandstanding and on a soapbox,” Abbott said.

“Quite frankly, I don’t care because it’s 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 can’t return to the level of excellence that he has – it shows a real lack of acknowledgement by Major League Baseball to what he’s done up to this point.” Although Wheeler didn’t make the cut, the Phillies still have five All-Stars in Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber, Brandon Marsh, Christopher Sánc...