An elbow subject that’s relegated Bryce Harper to DH duties since mid-April has been recognized as a ’small tear’ in his UCL, experiences Alex Coffey of the Philadelphia Enquirer. Whereas the reigning NL MVP stays in a position to swing the bat, he’ll bear a platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injection on Sunday that may preserve him out of the Phillies lineup on Sunday, and presumably into early subsequent week.
The staff had beforehand referred to as the problem a mild elbow sprain, however a go to to Dr. Neal ElAttrache confirmed a check from final week that appeared to point out a small tear in his ulnar collateral ligament — the identical ligament changed in Tommy John surgical procedures. Whether or not or not such a surgical procedure is in Harper’s future stays to be seen, however it seems that the Phils’ current intention is to maintain Harper’s bat within the lineup in no matter method potential.
Signed by the Phillies to a 13-year, $330MM deal forward of the 2019 season, Harper has principally lived as much as his billing, compiling a .280/.396/.553 triple-slash — good for a 145 wRC+ — within the first three-plus seasons of the deal. 2021 marked his greatest season in Philadelphia, as he led the majors in each slugging share and OPS with a .309/.429/.615 batting line (a 170 wRC+, additionally greatest within the bigs) en path to his second NL MVP.
Regardless of the prognosis, the Joe Girardi’s squad can sick afford to have Harper out of the lineup for lengthy. It’s nonetheless early, after all, however the Phillies are already seven video games off the tempo within the NL East. They might have suffered a little bit of unhealthy luck already early within the 12 months: regardless of a run differential of plus-ten, as an example, the Phillies are three video games underneath .500 getting into play on Thursday, and neither the offense (with a collective wRC+ of 106) nor the pitching employees (which has an xFIP of .365, ninth within the bigs) has clearly underperformed. Nonetheless, with each the red-hot Mets and the defending World Collection champion Braves (to not point out the pitching-rich Marlins) in the identical division, Girardi might want to proper the ship ahead of later if his staff needs to maintain alive greater than faint hopes for a division title.
After signing each Nick Castellanos (to a five-year, $100MM deal) and Kyle Schwarber (four years, $79MM) within the offseason, the Phils have been already taking part in with defensive fireplace, however the expectation had been that one of many two would function the DH the overwhelming majority of the time. Whereas each have supplied some punch on the plate (Castellanos way more so, with a 147 wRC+ to Schwarber’s 99), they’re additionally each liabilities on protection — an impact that’s amplified once they share an outfield. Harper has rated out as roughly common in proper (his 9.9 profession UZR suggests he’s saved roughly ten runs over his eleven-year profession, although defensive superior stats are way more controversial than offensive), however his alternative with both Castellanos or Schwarber represents a considerable downgrade.
