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Zack Wheeler struggles in rehab outing with Phillies ace on track for April return

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Zack Wheeler struggles in rehab outing with Phillies ace on track for April return originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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The Philadelphia Phillies starting rotation is one of the best units in all of Major League Baseball when they're fully healthy. But there is one major issue currently.

Zack Wheeler has been out to begin the year, but he's getting some rehab starts in and has looked good through one outing. But his second rehab outing didn't go quite as well.

As MLB.com's Paul Casella shared, Wheeler's five-run outing in the minors was not what the Phillies were hoping for. He is still on track for a late-April return, but there is some concern for his next rehab outing now.

Zack Wheeler has concerning rehab outing

"Wheeler threw 49 pitches, only 26 of which were strikes," Casella writes. "He threw 23 four-seam fastballs, a pitch that averaged 92.7 mph and topped out at 93.9 mph. That was down slightly from his first rehab start exactly one week ago, when his four-seamer topped out at 94.3 mph and averaged 93.3 mph."

This isn't what the Phillies were hoping for from Wheeler, who allowed five runs on four hits and two walks with just one strikeout in three innings pitched.

It's too soon to be overly concerned about Wheeler not being able to return to where he wants to be in the Major Leagues, but this is something to monitor.

More: Marlins suggested to sign Max Kepler after Phillies’ OF was suspended for 80 games

He has another rehab outing scheduled for next week, this time back at Lehigh Valley, which will be his last rehab outing before the Phillies make a decision.

That rehab outing, his third this year amid a recovery stint in the minors, could either be the last one if things go very well, or he could stay in the minors for another week or so to get more rehab work in.

While there is some worry following this five-run outing, the Phillies righty ace is still set to come back to the Major League roster at some point this spring, barring any setbacks.

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Watch: Conor McGregor fights in surprise Irish exhibition bout, fueling rumors of UFC return

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Conor McGregor returned to the ring Friday for a surprise boxing match as rumors of his impending UFC return continue to pick up steam.

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The former UFC two-division champion competed in a three-round exhibition at his longtime training home of Crumlin Boxing Club in Dublin, Ireland, facing off against local amateur Barry Nolan on the club's Good Friday show, per Irish outlet HITC. According to local reports, McGregor scored two standing eight-counts in the brief, unscored match, which saw both competitors wear protective headgear.

Watch highlights of his performance below.

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McGregor, 37, has not competed professionally in nearly five years, when the former champion suffered a gruesome broken leg in his July 2021 loss to Dustin Poirier.

Despite that extended absence, the Irishman remains one of the biggest names in the UFC, if not the biggest. A former titleholder at both featherweight and lightweight, McGregor has headlined the four highest-selling pay-per-view events in MMA history, and his 2017 crossover boxing match with Floyd Mayweather Jr. remains the second-highest selling pay-per-view event in combat sports history.

In recent weeks, McGregor (22-6) has been repeatedly linked to a potential UFC return in the summer, with Uncrowned's Ariel Helwani reporting that a slot headlining UFC 329 on July 11 at International Fight Week in a rematch against former opponent Max Holloway stands as a real possibility.

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McGregor was initially expected to return in June 2024 for a welterweight bout against Michael Chandler at UFC 303, however he withdrew from the contest two weeks out due to a broken toe.

McGregor's five-year layoff has not prevented his name from remaining in the headlines, though often for the wrong reasons. The UFC star was found liable for a 2018 sexual assault in 2024, and faced another sexual assault civil suit stemming from an alleged 2023 incident in Miami, which was ultimately dropped late last year. In a separate incident in Ibiza in 2023, McGregor was accused of attacking a woman on his yacht. In early 2025, he dropped multiple racial epithets in a social-media tirade against former rival Khabib Nurmagomedov, and this past summer he was caught on video twice punching a man inside an Ibiza club.

McGregor also received an 18-month suspension under the UFC anti-doping policy in October, which was retroactive to Sept. 20, 2024, meaning he was officially eligible to return to competition on March 20.

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FSU projected to land 2027 athlete

· Yahoo Sports

2027 athlete Dayon Cooper was offered a scholarship by Florida State back in February, and he took his first visit to see them in early March. He is currently back at FSU for another visit, and a very positive development has come about.

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Other schools like Tennessee and Vanderbilt are pushing hard for Cooper. However, Zach Blostein of Noles247 has logged a crystal ball prediction for him to land with Florida State.

Cooper had an excellent junior season for South Pittsburg High School in Tennessee, playing primarily at cornerback and wide receiver, but he also took snaps at running back. He racked up 421 yards and scored five touchdowns, and also caught 29 passes for 681 yards and 10 scores.

For his efforts, Cooper was named the 2025 Tennessee Titans Mr. Football for the state of Tennessee. He also helped the South Pittsburg Pirates go 14-1 and win the schools eight state title.

Cooper is the No. 535 overall player in the nation and the No. 36 athlete per the 247Sports composite rankings. The 6-foot, 180-pounder is the No. 26 prospect in the state of Tennessee as well.

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This article originally appeared on FSU Wire: FSU Football: Florida State projected to land athlete Dayon Cooper

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