Phillies' Bryce Harper: Team not planning 60-day IL move
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Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said Tuesday that Harper (elbow) won't open the season on the 60-day injured list, Todd Zolecki of MLB.com reports. "We're going to keep our options open," Dombrowski said.
Not placing Harper on the 60-day IL -- at least for the time being -- leaves open the possibility that he could return before the end of May. That would be quite a change in timetable from what the slugger referenced just 12 days ago, when he told the Associated Press that the All-Star break is "the date we kind of solidified." Ultimately, the Phillies could still wind up putting Harper on the 60-day IL if it becomes clear he won't be ready within the first two months of the season. Still, the news at least offers hope that a return much sooner than midseason is possible.
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Phillies' Bryce Harper: Advances to soft toss
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Harper (elbow) hit soft toss Thursday in Phillies camp, Todd Zolecki of MLB.com reports.
It's another step forward for Harper, who had been limited to tee work since he arrived at the Phillies' spring training complex earlier this month. On the mend from Tommy John and ulnar nerve transposition surgery, the 30-year-old slugger is expected to be ready to return at DH for the reigning NL champs just prior to the All-Star break, so he still has plenty of rehab work ahead of him.
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Phillies' Bryce Harper: Advances to tee work
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Harper (elbow) hit off a tee for the first time Thursday in Phillies camp, Alex Coffey of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.
The workout came right after a followup physical, which apparently showed an encouraging degree of healing in Harper's surgically-repaired right elbow. The 30-year-old slugger had been limited to dry swings so far in his rehab progression before taking this meaningful step forward. Throwing, and thus playing the outfield, could remain an issue throughout all of 2023, but Harper is on track to return offensively from Tommy John surgery around the middle of the upcoming season.
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Phillies' Bryce Harper: Unsure on playing play RF in 2023
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Harper (elbow) said Thursday that he has no idea whether he'll be ready to play right field at some point this season, Jayson Stark of The Athletic reports.
Harper has reported to the Phillies' spring training complex and is set to undergo a physical. Based on those results, he expects to have a better idea on a timeline for his return to the Phillies' lineup. Harper underwent Tommy John surgery in November and the initial rough timetable projected him to be back as a designated hitter shortly before the All-Star break. That same timetable had him hopefully playing the outfield at some point in the second half, but it sounds as if that's not a slam dunk. For fantasy purposes, Harper will not have outfield eligibility initially in 2023 and it appears there's a chance that could carry over into 2024. A clearer picture will be available following the slugger's physical.
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Phillies' Bryce Harper: Taking dry swings
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Harper (elbow) progressed to taking dry swings Thursday as he continues his recovery from Tommy John surgery, Alex Coffey of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.
Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said Harper's rehab is going "great" and expects the slugger to join the team in camp by March 8 or 9. He's obviously got a long way to go and many hoops to jump through in his recovery, but the hope is that Harper can return as a designated hitter before the All-Star break and as an outfielder at some point in the second half.
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Phillies' Bryce Harper: Undergoes Tommy John surgery
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Harper (elbow) underwent Tommy John and ulnar nerve transposition surgery Wednesday, Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia reports. He's expected to be sidelined for most of the first half of the 2023 season before returning to action as a designated hitter shortly before the All-Star break.
Harper was always expected to require some sort of procedure to address the injury to his throwing elbow injury that first cropped up in April, but it wasn't clear whether he would require Tommy John surgery. Now that he's had the surgery, Harper will face a shorter recovery timetable than pitchers who undergo the procedure, but he's still expected to be sidelined for the start of the 2023 season. Since the lefty-hitting Harper will be available to hit before he completes a throwing program, the Phillies will bring him back as a DH, but the team is hopeful that he'll be ready to play right field late in the regular season.
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Phillies' Bryce Harper: Elbow surgery on tap
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Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said Wednesday that Harper is scheduled to undergo elbow surgery Nov. 23 in Los Angeles, Alex Coffey of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.
Dombrowski said he's still unsure whether Harper will require Tommy John surgery or another type of procedure to repair the torn UCL in his right elbow, as a determination on that front won't be known until Harper's orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Neal ElAttrache, has a chance to evaluate the injury and provide a recommendation. Regardless of what kind of surgery Harper requires, Dombrowski said he doesn't expect it to "slow him down" whenever the 30-year-old is deemed ready to make his 2023 debut. Even if that's the case, Harper could still be limited strictly to designated-hitter duties to begin the upcoming season, and a potential Tommy John surgery would likely prevent the 30-year-old from playing the outfield until 2024. A more precise timeline for Harper's return to baseball activities won't be known until the surgery is completed next week.
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Phillies' Bryce Harper: Weighing offseason elbow surgery
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Harper is expected to undergo an MRI later this week that will determine whether or not he'll require offseason surgery to address the torn UCL in his right elbow that he played through for most of the 2022 season, Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia reports.
The torn UCL first cropped up in mid-April and limited the lefty-hitting Harper to serving exclusively as a designated hitter the rest of the season, after the injury to his throwing elbow didn't respond well enough to platelet-rich plasma injections to allow the 30-year-old to resume duties in the outfield. Harper also missed considerable time after undergoing surgery in late June to repair a fractured thumb and struggled down the stretch in the regular season when he was activated from the injured list in late August, but the reigning National League MVP finally appeared to return to elite form at the plate during the Phillies' run to the World Series. At this point, neither the elbow or thumb injuries look to be anything that will affect the Harper at the dish heading into 2023, but the Phillies would ideally like to have him available to play in the outfield on a more frequent basis during the upcoming season while deploying either Kyle Schwarber or Nick Castellanos more frequently at DH. Harper's upcoming evaluation should help guide those plans, though it could influence his readiness for spring training depending on what kind of surgery he requires, if any. In a worst-case scenario, Harper may need Tommy John surgery to fully repair the ligament, but even then, he would still likely be able to play on an everyday basis as a DH before potentially gaining clearance to play the outfield late in the 2023 campaign.
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Phillies' Bryce Harper: Swipes bag in loss
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Harper went 0-for-2 with a walk and a stolen base during Wednesday's 5-0 loss to the Astros in Game 5 of the World Series.
Harper had a quiet night offensively, as did the rest of the Philadelphia offense, but he was able to steal second off pitcher Cristian Javier and catcher Christian Vazquez in the second inning. The steal marked his 12th of the season in 16 attempts and his first of the postseason. The 30-year-old will look to get back in the hit column Thursday night during the crucial Game 5 in the 2-2 series. Harper is slated to face righty Justin Verlander in Game 5 -- he is 3-for-8 lifetime against Verlander.
Harper went 1-for-4 with a two-run homer during Tuesday's 7-0 win over the Astros in Game 3 of the World Series.
Harper started the Phillies' barrage of home runs, hitting a Lance McCullers curveball deep into the bleachers for a two-run homer to make the score 2-0 in the first inning. The 30-year-old lost an 11-game hit streak after going 0-for-4 in Game 2, but he bounced back with his sixth homer and 12th extra-base hit of the postseason. Harper is now hitting .382 across 55 at bats in what has been his best postseason by far -- to put things into perspective, he has 21 hits in the 2022 playoffs, and his previous high across four other postseasons was five hits. Harper will look to stay hot against projected starter Cristian Javier in Game 4 of the World Series.
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Phillies' Bryce Harper: Clutch homer eliminates San Diego
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Harper went 1-for-3 with a two-run home run and a walk during Sunday's 4-3 win over the Padres in Game 5 of the NLCS.
Harper came to the plate after a leadoff single by J.T. Realmuto in the bottom of the eighth inning, and he sent a Robert Suarez sinker into the left-field seats, igniting the crowd and putting the Phillies ahead 4-3. The 30-year-old lefty came into Game 5 with 10 extra-base hits in the postseason, a career high, and he added another for one of the most clutch hits of his career. Harper earned the NLCS MVP award by completing the series with a .400 average, three doubles, two homers and five RBI. He will take his red-hot bat into the World Series to face the Astros.
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Phillies' Bryce Harper: Two doubles in Game 4
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Harper went 2-for-4 with two doubles and two RBI during Saturday's 10-6 win over the Padres in Game 4 of the NLCS.
Harper continued his incredible postseason at the plate Saturday, slamming his ninth and tenth extra-base hits of the playoffs and reaching nine RBI. The 30-year-old knocked Padres starter Mike Clevinger from the game with an RBI double in the first and did the same to reliever Sean Manaea with an RBI double in the fifth that gave the Phillies a 7-6 lead. Harper had never batted over .294 in the postseason, but he is now hitting .410 over 39 plate appearances with a career high 10 extra-base hits. Harper is slated to face Yu Darvish in Game 5, who he has tagged for two homers in nine at bats for his career.
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Phillies' Bryce Harper: Hits solo homer in Game 1
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Harper went 1-for-4 with a solo home run during Tuesday's 2-0 win over the Padres in Game 1 of the NLCS.
Harper took Padres starter Yu Darvish deep to left field in the fourth inning for the game's first run. His homer proved to be all the Phillies needed as their pitching staff completed a shutout Tuesday night. The 30-year-old continued his torrid run in the 2022 postseason with his fourth home run and seventh extra-base hit in just seven games, extending his hitting streak to six games. Prior to the postseason, Harper hit only three home runs in all of September and October, but his power surge is coming at the perfect time for the Phillies.
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Phillies' Bryce Harper: On bench for regular-season finale
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Harper isn't in the lineup Wednesday against Houston.
Harper is resting for Wednesday's regular-season finale after he went 3-for-12 with an RBI and three strikeouts over the last three games. J.T. Realmuto will serve as the designated hitter and bat third.
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Phillies' Bryce Harper: Three hits during loss
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Harper went 3-for-4 in Thursday's loss to the Cubs.
Harper recently went through a 1-for-16 stretch over five games but has broken out of it with five knocks in his last three contests. In addition, the outfielder has tallied seven RBI during his last six games.
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Phillies' Bryce Harper: Breaks skid with two hits
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Harper went 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI in Tuesday's 2-1 loss against the Cubs.
Harper provided all the offense for the Phillies on Tuesday with an RBI double in the top of the sixth inning. He also led off the ninth inning with a base hit but was quickly erased after J.T. Realmuto grounded into a fielder's choice. The two-hit effort comes after Harper was just 1-for-16 with seven strikeouts in his previous five games. He is slashing .292/.371/.540 through 391 plate appearances this season.
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Phillies' Bryce Harper: Clubs 17th home run
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Harper went 1-for-3 with a solo home run and an additional run scored in Wednesday's victory over the Marlins.
With the Phillies down 1-0 in the top of the sixth, Harper took a 3-2 changeup from Edward Cabrera 404 feet to left center for his 17th long ball of the season. The homer was his second in the month of September, during which he is batting .194 with four RBI and six runs scored. The homer Wednesday coincides with a modest four-game hitting streak, as he looks to finish the season strong and record his ninth career 20-homer season.
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Phillies' Bryce Harper: Goes deep against Washington
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Harper went 1-for-4 with one homer, two RBI and two runs scored in Saturday's win over the Nationals.
Harper blasted a two-run homer off righty starter Erick Fedde to tie the game with two outs in the third. The outfielder has been slumping in his last seven games, slashing .160/.276/.320 over 29 plate appearances. The 29-year-old has been better on the road this season, recording a 1.035 OPS in 170 plate appearances compared to a .861 OPS in 160 plate appearances at home.
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Phillies' Bryce Harper: Sitting out Friday
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Harper is not in the lineup for Friday's contest against the Nationals.
Harper will sit on the bench Friday as the Nationals will begin the game with lefty Patrick Corbin on the mound. Alec Bohm will take over as Washington's designated hitter, causing Edmundo Sosa to pick up a start at third base.
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Phillies' Bryce Harper: Gets aboard five times
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Harper went 3-for-4 with two walks, one RBI and two runs scored in Wednesday's 18-2 win over the Diamondbacks.
Every Phillie in the starting lineup recorded at least two hits in the massively lopsided contest. Harper led the way by getting on base five times, though he wasn't as directly involved in run production. The 29-year-old hasn't missed a beat since returning from a broken thumb, going 8-for-21 (.381) with two doubles, four RBI and three runs scored in six games since he was activated. He's up to a .323/.395/.589 slash line with 15 home runs, 52 RBI, 52 runs scored and nine stolen bases through 70 contests overall.
