Phillies news and rumors 11/16: Wheeler, Eflin finish equally high in Cy Young voting

Zack Wheeler finished sixth in NL Cy Young voting. (Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire)

The results of the National and American League Cy Young Award voting were announced on Wednesday, and a pair of righties who have pitched for the Phillies and whose names are pronounced “Zack” finished equally high atop their respective league’s ballot.

Zack Wheeler landed in sixth over in the Senior Circuit. Wheeler, who finished seventh in the NL with 192 innings, ninth with a 3.61 ERA and third with a 1.08 WHIP, received four third-place votes. It’s the third season in which Wheeler has received Cy Young votes (anywhere down the ballot), and all three have come with the Phillies. He finished 12th in 2020 and a controversial second in 2021.

Wheeler polled behind second-time Cy Young winner Blake Snell, as well as Logan Webb, Zac Gallen, Spencer Strider and Justin Steele.

Wheeler caught fire after the All-Star Break, pitching to a 2.45 ERA from July 22 to Sept. 6 and working his way back into possible Cy Young consideration. A six-run mid-September start in Atlanta put that longshot possibility to rest, but regardless — Wheeler’s sixth-place finish, as well as his postseason resume the past two years and even a Gold Glove Award, is an unnecessary reminder of why the Phillies want to keep him around for a few years after his contract is currently set to expire.

His Cy Young sixth-place counterpart in the American League is Zach Eflin. Interestingly, the 2016-22 Phillie received as high as a second-place vote — belonging to MLB.com‘s Jason Beck, who, like every other voter, put Gerrit Cole atop his ballot.

Eflin’s first season in Tampa Bay was the best of his career. He set career-bests in ERA (3.50), innings (177 2/3), strikeouts (186) and WHIP (1.02). Those figures ranked eighth, T-13th, T-10th and second, respectively, in the AL. He also set a career-high and tied for the AL lead in wins, for whatever it’s worth, with 16.

Much of the reason the Phillies parted with Eflin last offseason, despite his stated interest in returning, was his history of knee issues, but health wasn’t a problem for him in 2023. He made 31 starts — a year after returning from injury as a reliever late in the 2022 season. Eflin’s upside motivated the Rays to gamble on his health, and they did so by awarding him the largest free-agent contract in club history: three years, $40 million.

And if the Zack/Zach, onetime Phillie, Cy Young sixth-place equivalency isn’t enough: That gamble, despite previous health concerns to said right-handed starting pitcher, is paying off big time.

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