Zack Wheeler is not being traded, Mets are talking about the Matz deal, Chris Young – The Athletic

After ESPN’s Buster Olney reported the Phillies were open to trading offers for right-handed Zack Wheeler, the club’s logical response would have been what virtually every other team says when similar news goes out: We’re not buying the player. We appreciate him very much. But it would be irresponsible for us not to listen.

Instead, John Middleton, general partner of Phillie’s manager, responded as if Olney had suggested the team sell the Liberty Bell and said to Wheeler, “If they offered me Babe Ruth, I wouldn’t trade him.” Fair enough, if considering that Ruth is not exactly available. However, sources confirm that the Phillies actually spoke quietly to clubs about Wheeler, whom they signed last off season with a five-year contract for $ 118 million for free agents.

So why the vehemence of Middleton?

Maybe the owner didn’t know about the Wheeler discussions and was upset to hear about it from ESPN, especially if he gave his front …