There was not a ton to be excited about if you were a Mets fan in 2018, but one thing that went really well was the emergence of Zack Wheeler. After three seasons in which injuries and ineffectiveness made many people forget how good a prospect he was once upon a time, Wheeler really put it together in 2018, going 12-7 with a 3.31 ERA, a 1.12 WHIP, and 8.8 K/9 across 29 starts. He was particularly effective in the second half, going 9-1 with a 1.68 ERA in 11 starts, while greatly reducing his walk rate. Just solid all around. Today Mets manager Mickey Callaway confirmed that Wheeler’s Monday start was his last one and that he has been shut down for the season. It’s a workload-based decision, not a health decision. Wheeler has pitched 187.1 innings this season between the minors and majors, which is more than twice the number of innings he pitched in his previous three years combined. No sense risking his offseason routine. All kinds of sense in ending things on a high note. Wheeler will be eligible for salary arbitration for the final time this winter. He will also, along with Jacob deGrom and Noah Syndergaard, form the basis of what a lot of people might reasonably suspect is a rotation that can anchor a contender in 2019. Yes, people say that sort of thing about the Mets often and they so rarely come though, but hope is a hard thing to kill. Especially when you have a 1-2-3- punch with Wheeler as the “worst” of the bunch. Follow @craigcalcaterra<doc-sep>PHILADELPHIA — Zack Wheeler was so good this season, the Mets ended his early. Manager Mickey Callaway announced Wednesday that Wheeler has been shut down two starts early because of workload concerns — 100 more innings this season than he pitched in 2015-17 combined — not any health issues. Corey Oswalt will take Wheeler’s place in the rotation, including Saturday against the Nationals. After 29 starts, plus one in Triple-A Las Vegas to open the year, Wheeler finished with career-best marks in ERA (3.31), WHIP (1.12), FIP (3.24), strikeouts per walk (3.25) and innings (187 1/3). “We’re really excited about the year he had,” Callaway said. “And we feel like we’d probably be taking the best care of him we can if we shut him down at this point.” Said Wheeler: “I feel like I had a good season. I would have liked to finish it out, but getting [about] 100 more innings than last season, not doing all that much the past two and a half years, it makes some sense to get ahead and shut it down and not really push it.” Wheeler pitched himself out of the rotation in spring training, which led to the brief minor-league stint, but quickly returned to the majors and made as large a leap as any Mets pitcher under first-year manager Callaway and new pitching coach Dave Eiland. With a refined delivery and an improved between-starts routine, Wheeler threw harder than ever (96.6 mph on his fastball), added a new pitch (a splitter) and really rounded into form in the second half, going at least seven innings in 12 of his last 16 starts. He lowered his ERA at the start of June (5.40) by more than two points. Subscribe to Newsday’s sports newsletter Receive stories, photos and videos about your favorite New York teams plus national sports news and events. By clicking Sign up, you agree to our privacy policy. Wheeler’s 1.68 ERA in the second half is fourth-best in the majors, edging Jacob deGrom (1.94). “This stretch that he had has really kind of opened his eyes,” Callaway said. “He always knew he could be this guy, but when you’re actually that guy, it kind of opens your eyes to, ‘OK, I’ve got this, I’m going to move forward with it.’ Hopefully this is a big stepping stone for him in his career.” As much as anything else, finally being healthy was critical for Wheeler, who made only 17 starts the previous three seasons because of various injuries. He said Wednesday he feels healthy aside from the wear and tear typical of this time of year. “If I really needed to, like if we were in the playoff push or something, I could definitely go out there and finish it up,” Wheeler said. “That’s not why I’m stopping. It’s being smart, really.” Flores back to NYC Wilmer Flores returned to New York City on Wednesday to get his knees checked out Thursday. He could be available as soon as Thursday night when the Mets visit the Nationals, Callaway said. The origin of the knee pain is unknown. Callaway said both of Flores’ knees hurt. Flores said his right knee has been bothering him for two months, and his left knee hasn’t been bothering him. He’ll get tests on both. “I’m getting the other one checked out, but it’s not bothering me,” Flores said. “Why not?” Flores said he didn’t tell the team he was having trouble “because I wanted to keep playing.” But he has started only two of the Mets’ past 13 games through Wednesday. “Since I wasn’t out there every day, if the doctor says I really need to rest, I’ll just rest,” Flores said. “Hopefully there’s nothing bad there.”<doc-sep>The New York Mets announced today that they are shutting down Zack Wheeler for the remainder of the 2018 season. Corey Oswalt will make the start on Saturday against the Washington Nationals. Prior to Wheeler’s last start on Monday, Mickey Callaway mentioned that they were monitoring the right-hander “very, very closely” and could conceivably shut him down after that start. According to Callaway, the decision was made based on his workload and not any health problems. Wheeler, who missed the entire 2015 and 2016 season following Tommy John surgery and pitched only 86.1 innings in 2017, exceeded last year’s mark by 96 innings. Wheeler finishes the season with a career best in wins (12), ERA (3.31), FIP (3.24), WHIP (1.12), BB% (7.4%), and K% (24.1%), while falling eight strikeouts and 3.0 innings shy of his career high in those categories. It was a career year for Wheeler after injuries derailed his progress over the past three seasons. Wheeler had a rough Spring Training and began the year in Triple-A before joining the team in Miami. After an encouraging first start on April 11 against the Miami Marlins, he struggled throughout much of the months of April and May and entered June with a 5.40 ERA. After that, he turned his season around and developed into one of the best starting pitchers in the National League. In his last 15 starts, he posted a 2.06 ERA, a 2.70 FIP, and a 0.92 WHIP in 100.2 innings pitched. He struck out 100 while walking only 24 during that span and ranked in the top 10 in the National League in ERA and FIP since the All-Star game. With his trade value at an all-time high following this resurgence, the team toyed with trading him at the deadline but did not receive an enticing enough offer and held on to him. Wheeler is set to become a free agent after the 2019 season.<doc-sep>
FILE - In this July 14, 2018, file photo, New York Mets starting pitcher Zack Wheeler tips his hat to the crowd as he leaves in the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Washington Nationals in New York. The Mets are shutting down Wheeler for the rest of the season as a precaution, ending a career-best year in which he logged nearly 100 more innings than 2017, manager Mickey Callaway said Wednesday, Sept. 19, 2018. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson, File) PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- The New York Mets are shutting down right-hander Zack Wheeler for the rest of the season as a precaution, ending a career-best year in which he logged nearly 100 more innings than 2017. Manager Mickey Callaway said before Wednesday night's game at Philadelphia that they'd be ''probably taking the best care of him'' by holding him out of his final two starts. ''I feel like I had a good season,'' Wheeler said. ''I would have liked to have finished it out, but getting 100 more innings than last season without doing that much the past 2+ years, I think it makes sense to kind of shut it down and not really push it.'' Wheeler missed two full seasons after undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2015. He returned last season and was 3-7 with a 5.21 ERA in 17 starts. After beginning this season in Triple-A following a difficult spring training, Wheeler was called up in April and went 12-7 with a 3.31 ERA in 29 starts while throwing 182 1/3 innings. ''He always knew he could be this guy. But when you're actually that guy it kind of opens your eyes to, OK, I've got this and I'm going to move forward with it,'' Callaway said. ''So hopefully this is a big stepping stone for him in his career.'' The 28-year-old Wheeler was dominant after the All-Star break, going 9-1 with a 1.68 ERA and solidifying his hold as the No. 3 starter behind Jacob deGrom and Noah Syndergaard. Wheeler allowed four runs and three hits in seven innings while earning the win in his final start on Monday against the Phillies, the same night New York was eliminated from postseason contention. Wheeler said ending his season early was a collective decision made between he and his agent, Callaway and pitching coach Dave Eiland. ''I feel good for the most part,'' Wheeler said. ''The body, after this long, was kind of wearing down a little bit. But if I really needed to like for a playoff push, I could go out there and finish it up. That's not why I'm stopping. It's just being smart.'' Story continues Wheeler's emergence has brought confidence that the Mets will have a solid rotation in 2019. ''I think we all made strides,' Wheeler said. ''Jake's going for the Cy Young. I had a good second half. Steve (Matz) is looking like a new and better pitcher and I'm happy to see that. Noah has been hurt for the most part this year, but he's taken some great strides lately to get back to where he was. And (Jason Vargas) has turned his season around. So hopefully we can all stay on this path.'' Callaway said Corey Oswalt will start in Wheeler's place on Saturday at Washington. --- More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/tag/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP-Sports