Phyllis star Bryce Harper He broke his left thumb On Saturday night on the field, a development that necessitated an immediate period for the injured list. He has been undergoing further testing over the past couple of days to determine the next steps in his treatment, and it appears likely that the ruling NL MVP will go under the knife.
Scott Lauber of the Philadelphia Inquirer Reports indicate that Harper is “expected to require surgery” to repair the fracture. The measure wouldn’t necessarily end his season, but Lauber notes that it cost him at least two months. Even in the (seemingly unlikely) scenario where Harper avoids surgery, he’s looking for at least four to six weeks of absence, according to the Inquirer.
On the one hand, it’s encouraging to hear that Harper is expecting a comeback this season even if he needs to undergo surgery. However, the development, which is likely to be headed for surgery that will cost him more than eight weeks, is a severe blow to the Philadelphia club, which has not made a strong case to a watershed until this point. The Phils come into play on Monday and hold a 39-35 record, putting them a game-and-a-half back from the Cardinals in last wild card position in the National League (with the Giants also in a game above them).
This has been a solid but not stellar show despite another stellar year from Harper. He hit .318/.385/.599 with 15 home runs through 275 board appearances, an offense that scores 66 points above the league average on the WRC+ scale. That’s not far from last season’s 170 mark which resulted in the second best player in his career. Playing through a UCL tear at a throwing elbow landed Harper to the designated batting ground for most of the season, but he remained one of the sport’s most productive players in attack.
Off-season signature Nick Castellanos And the Kyle Schwarber It will split time between one corner spot and DH while Harper is out of play. Remembers Phils Mickey Monyak Over the weekend to join Odúbel Herrera And the Matt Ferling As other options for interim captain Rob Thompson. Philadelphia catch Oscar Mercado of concessions From Guardians this afternoon to add a capable central depth of field player to the mix. Mercado followed up a solid 2019 debutante show with three subpar seasons on the board that eventually knocked him off the Cleveland roster.
Mercado’s claim certainly won’t stop Phils from continuing to tackle the field for the next five weeks. Midfield was likely to be a target area even before Harper was injured, and the stellar champion star until the end of August may only be losing numbers to increase the club’s urgency for other promotions. Andrew BenintendeAnd the Anthony SantanderAnd the Michael A. TaylorAnd the David PeraltaAnd the Tommy Fam And if the sailors do not correct the ship in the coming weeks, Mitch Hannigeramong a group of defensive players who could be available on the deadline.
