The circumstances were different when Zack Wheeler bolted the Mets via free agency, due mostly to his injury history.
But the massive contract extension the ace hurler signed Monday with the Phillies is a reminder of what could have been, at a time when homegrown everyday star Pete Alonso is entering his walk year with the Mets.
Wheeler also would have become a free agent again following the 2024 campaign, but the Phils boldly locked him up with a three-year deal beginning in 2025 worth a whopping $126 million — the most lucrative annual outlay for any extension in MLB history.
Wheeler’s $42 million average annual value is only slightly less than the mega-deals the Mets lavished upon Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander — $43.3 million apiece — before the multi-time Cy Young winners were dumped at last year’s trade deadline.
