Phillies star Bryce Harper Hit by a tee today tweets Alex Coffey of the Philadelphia Inquirer. He is expected to swing every other day for the foreseeable future as he continues to recover from Tommy John surgery in November.
It was Harper’s first swing since going under the knife. Manager Rob Thomson told reporters the club isn’t ruling out batting practice at some point during spring training, although he warned the club plans to be prudent throughout the rehab process (link via The Athletic’s Jayson Stark).
Up to this point in Harper’s recovery, everything seems to be on track. The Phillies have claimed they expect him back as the designated batsman around the All-Star Break. While it’s possible he could return towards the end of the first half of the season, both team and players have been lecturing patience early in rehab. It was similar with a view to a possible return to the outfield in 2023, which is still uncertain.
The surgery is on Harper’s throwing arm and he’s still good to start a throwing program. This obviously precludes any possibility that he could immediately resume his usual right field work upon his return. He will be limited to the designated batsman early on his return, but neither Harper nor Thomson have ruled out possible outfield representatives at the end of the season.
“It all depends on how he heals and how he gets into his throwing program, how that all works,” the manager said (via Associated Press’s Mark Didtler). “I don’t think it’s out of the question.” Harper added he wants to “get back out there and be in the right field in front of the fans and do my stuff,” but indicated there are no plans to “go back to the throwing part.” (transmitted by The Athletic). Once Harper is ready for DH work, Nick Castellanos And Kyle Schwarber takes over the regular corner field service jobs.
The two-time NL MVP comes from a superb .286/.364/.514 line. That’s despite playing through the elbow injury that eventually necessitated surgery and a midseason absence after breaking his left thumb in a hit on the pitch. He followed up with an otherworldly .349/.414/.746 that came up against playoff pitching to help the Phils to a pennant.