After enduring a borderline tortuous 2019 season which saw the likes of Drew Smyly and Jason Vargas cracking the rotation, the Phillies finally decided to invest some big bucks into the “starting pitcher” position (Jake Arrieta does not count, btw).
The Phillies acted with shockingly fast aggression when they signed former Mets pitcher Zack Wheeler to a 5 year/$118 million dollar contract on December 9. While initially this appeared to be quite the lucrative deal, it quickly looked like a serious underpay considering the money guys like Gerrit Cole and Stephen Strasburg received.