PHILADELPHIA -- The last time Zack Wheeler won a major-league game, he was 24 years old and seemingly poised to enter a promising new phase of his career. The date was Sept. 19, 2014. The venue: Turner Field in Atlanta. Wheeler threw six shutout innings against the Atlanta Braves for his 11th victory of the season, and the New York Mets had every reason to expect he would continue to progress as a member of their 2015 rotation.
A two-year odyssey of elbow surgery, rehab, setbacks and self-doubt has disabused Wheeler of the notion that anything is guaranteed in the big leagues.