CLEARWATER, Fla. — Last year, a decade into his major-league career, Zack Wheeler came to Phillies camp with a new toy. He broke out a sweeper, a trendy variant of the slider, and wound up throwing it more than any other off-speed pitch en route to receiving Cy Young votes.

“I just try to bring something new every year,” he said Wednesday.

And with a new spring training dawning, after throwing a nice-and-easy first bullpen session (“Room service,” manager  Rob Thomson  Wheeler’s called it) to catcher J.T. Realmuto in the middle of a pack of mounds at the Carpenter Complex, Wheeler revealed plans for another wrinkle: More changeups, especially to left-handed hitters.

Lefties slugged .412 against Wheeler last season, up from .342 in 2022 and .319 in 2021. When pitching coach Caleb Cotham pointed out those numbers, among others, they went to work on finding a solution. Because when you’re as good as the Phillies’ ace, you seek out the littlest things to make you better.

It speaks to Wheeler’s competitiveness. Also, his creativity. Most of all, though, three months shy of his 34th birthday, it might be the best reason for the Phillies to take the plunge and give him another multiyear contract.