Zack Wheeler has been receiving bone-strengthening injections

by Tim Fitzpatrick February 12, 2018

I do everything I can to not be an alarmist, but Zack Wheeler has been receiving bone-strengthening injections in his stomach for the past six months, and I can’t help but be a little concerned.

In an effort to both recover from last year’s season-ending injury, and maintain his health throughout 2018, Wheeler has been taking daily shots of the medicine Forteo, The New York Post reported.

Zack Wheeler taking prescribed injections to revitalize his career https://t.co/UfAe94zFOF pic.twitter.com/17oSvNguds
— New York Post (@nypost) February 11, 2018

Forteo has been used by athletes such as former New York Giants running back Ahmad Bradshaw and former Mets pitcher Eric Goeddel in order to rapidly recover from injuries.

I'm trying not to freak out, but...

The fact that a starting pitcher whom the Mets are relying on this season requires such a peculiar procedure in order to stave off injuries is scary. Maybe I should be viewing this as positive news that a player has been proactive about remaining healthy throughout the season, but does anyone blame me for having Mets injury PTSD?

Plus, the most concerning aspect of this news may just be that this is the first we’ve heard of it. The Mets have a track record of communication issues regarding their players’ workout routines and recovery programs. In the past, those have not only between the players and the organization, but between the organization and the media, too. This is something new manager Mickey Callaway assured the fans would no longer be the case.

If we find out that the organization was not aware of Wheeler’s daily injection program, it would not set a very good precedent for this new regime. If the organization has been aware of this, it instead reveals a lack of transparency between the organization and the media, which to me, would be the far more forgivable sin.

Whatever the case, daily injections of a drug that alters the body to this extent certainly constitutes as a major treatment, so why is this news just breaking now? And, more importantly, have the Mets done enough to prepare for the possibility that Wheeler may not be healthy once again? We'll get our answers soon enough.