MLB star keeps one of his ribs in his locker after surgery

Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Zack Wheeler is missing a bone from his body, specifically a rib, which he lovingly keeps in a box in his closet at home, he revealed in a brief interview with the sports press who reacted with jokes and laughter.

To learn the story behind the missing rib of the American MLB player, here we tell you.

Who is Zack Wheeler and why is he missing a rib?

It is true that people tend to keep important items at home, from jewelry, documents, photographs, maybe some teeth from when they were children, but in the case of Zack Wheeler, this goes a little more to the extreme by keeping his removed rib.

Zack was placed on the injured list on August 16, 2025, due to a blood clot in his right upper extremity. Two days later, he underwent a thrombolysis procedure to remove the clot. The Phillies ace was diagnosed with venous thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS), which is a set of signs and symptoms that originate from compression of the neurovascular bundle between bony and muscular structures.

The case was very similar to that of the Rangers right-hander Merrill Kelly, who underwent the same procedure as Wheeler in 2020.

Zack Wheeler: Why does he keep his removed rib?

In an interview with the media, the right-hander commented that he was able to keep the rib that was removed as part of his thoracic outlet decompression surgery last September, keeping his own bone in a cupboard inside his home.

They give it to you after surgery. The doctor came in… he was like, I wanted to give it to you personally, so he just came in and gave it to me in a bag

Zack Wheeler

Faced with the player’s sincerity and spontaneity, the stadium was filled with laughter and funny comments towards Zack Wheeler. He now has a little less bone than normal people, will continue his recovery from the procedure performed a couple of months ago and which will prevent him from being on the roster in the opening game and several more games.

The 35-year-old pitcher is under contract until 2027 and is expected to regain his excellent form for the regular season, with hopes of reaching the postseason, where Wheeler ranks third all-time among pitchers with at least 10 playoff starts.