The Philadelphia Phillies are getting ramped up for Opening Day, and they have the players in place to compete this season. Christopher Sanchez will be the starting pitcher to open the season, and before he gets out to the mound, the Phillies made sure to give him an extension, according to MLB columnist Jon Heyman.
“Phillies extend ace Christopher Sanchez again. It’s unprecedented as Sanchez still had 3 years and 2 team options to go on an extension done 21 months ago. Kudos to owner John Middleton in his interest in making things right for the late-blooming ace,” Heyman wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
Sanchez's old contract guaranteed him $22.5 million over four seasons, but he's played well over the past season that led to the team restructuring him.
It was a strong 2025 season for Sanchez, as he finished second in National League Cy Young voting. He set career-highs in wins, ERA, innings, and strikeouts. There's no doubt that the Phillies had one of the best pitching rotations in the league, and the hope is that they can continue that this season as well.
Unfortunately, they'll be without Zack Wheeler on Opening Day as he returns from thoracic outlet decompression surgery, but he's been working to get back.
“I think I'm probably just on track,” Wheeler said via OnPattison's Anthony SanFilippo. “You guys know me by now. I really don't try to get too excited about certain things. Like I said before, just kind of take it day by day. We'll look forward to the next one and try to crisp it up a little bit more, try to get the {velocity} up just a tick more… That's usually how it goes during spring.”
The hope is that Wheeler is back sooner rather than later, and the Phillies will be set for the season.
