Phils Wheeler could be rolling in $$$ soon

WHEN I asked one Phillie what ace Zack Wheeler should get as a salary in his new negotiations, that Phillie pointed to Wheeler’s uniform number — yes, $45 million. He was speculating Wheeler could possibly join Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer as the majors’ $40M pitchers, but of course they were free agents with multiple Cy Youngs. Extensions are different, but Wheeler should exceed $30M.

Wheeler would presumably love to return — he originally signed in Philly for $118M over five when the White Sox bid $125M — and the Phillies badly want to win. When Wheeler left the Mets with a lifetime 100 ERAplus, no one could have imagined he’d even be talked about in the Verlander-Scherzer stratosphere.

The Phillies are believed to have made the biggest offer for Yoshinobu Yamamoto, as first reported by the Philadelphia Inquirer. Phillies baseball president Dave Dombrowski only would say they made a “very strong” offer. Six teams were said to bid $300M plus: Yankees, Mets, Phillies, the winning Dodgers at $325M and two others. (Giants aren’t counted since they were out early.)

Phillies superstar Bryce Harper would like to be extended. His case is that he’s shown amazing commitment and done everything in his power to recruit stars, and done it (and, of course, played superbly). Though the Phillies are thrilled to have him, with eight years left, Harper has little leverage. It’s up to John Middleton, one of baseball’s best owners . ...

The Yankees finished second for Kiké Hernandez, he said on “Foul Territory.” The Dodgers were the top choice all along but the Yankees offered close to the winning $4M bid. Oswald Peraza now seems less than a certainty to make the Yankees . ...

The Angels still seem interested in Joey Votto . ...

No. 1-overall pick Paul Skenes is wowing ’em in Pirates camp, hitting 102 mph. Could he possibly make their rotation? One longtime scout’s ranking of the best college pitchers he’s seen: 1. Stephen Strasburg. 2. Skenes. 3. Mark Prior . ...

A.J. Puk, former No. 1 pick and former reliever, is impressing in Jupiter, Fla., and strongly in the mix for a Marlins rotation spot.