Phillies, Wheeler reach huge deal
The Phillies and righthander Zack Wheeler are in agreement on a threeyear extension that will keep the ace in Philadelphia through the 2027 season.
The team did not disclose financial terms Monday, but multiple outlets reported the extension is worth $126 million, which would make the deal MLB’s highest ever in terms of average annual value ($42 million).
Wheeler, 33, is set to make $23.5 million this season, the final year of the five-year deal he signed with the Phillies in December 2019. The extension begins in 2025.
Wheeler went 13-6 with a 3.61 ERA and 212 strikeouts in 32 starts last season.
He’s 87-63 with a 3.45 ERA in 227 starts with the New York Mets (2013-19) and Phillies. He owns a career rate of 9.1 strikeouts per nine innings.
Donaldson retires: At 38 and a free agent, third baseman Josh Donaldson said he would retire after a 13-year MLB career in which he made three AllStar Games and won an MVP award with Toronto in 2015. He played last season with the New York
Yankees and Milwaukee.
He was one of the game’s top third basemen from 2013-17 while starring for Oakland and Toronto. He finished with 279 home runs, 816 RBI and a .261 average.
Kershaw on 60-day IL: In a move that was not unexpected, the Dodgers moved Clayton Kershaw
to the 60-day injured list. Kershaw, who will turn 36 on March 19, has said he expects to return in July or August after recovering from shoulder surgery he had in November.
Former shortstop dies: UL Washington,
who was known for his time playing in Kansas City and his trademark toothpick, died after a reported bout with cancer. He was 70.
Washington .251 with 27 home runs, 255 RBI and 132 stolen bases in 907 games with the Royals, Montreal (1985) and Pittsburgh (1986-87). He helped Kansas City win its first American League pennant in 1980.
But he might have been best known for playing with a toothpick in his mouth.
“I’d much rather be remembered as a pretty good player, but I realize most people will remember me as the guy with the toothpick,” he once said.