Philadelphia Phillies star Bryce Harper played most of last season hurt.
He had a fracture on his left thumb and played with an ulnar collateral ligament tear in his right elbow.
In November, he underwent Tommy John surgery to repair that tear, putting his status for the 2023 campaign in doubt.
While Tommy John surgery doesn’t require the same recovery period for hitters that it does for pitchers, it became clear that he wouldn’t be ready to start the season on the active roster.
The Athletic’s Matt Gelb confirmed that he won’t even report to Clearwater, where the Phillies have their camp, for the time being because there is no point in doing so.
Bryce Harper won’t report when hitters are required, Rob Thomson said. He can’t do much the current phase of his rehab process. So he’ll come to Clearwater first or second week of March.
— Matt Gelb (@MattGelb) February 17, 2023
Right now, Harper is very limited in what he can do.
When the two-time MVP had the surgery, it was expected that he would be ready to swing a bat by the end of March.
That, to our knowledge, hasn’t changed.
As things currently stand, Harper is projected to return to action around the All-Star break.
He will be a designated hitter exclusively, as the Phillies prefer not to risk aggravation by having him throwing in the outfield.
The veteran slugger was a beast in the postseason, but his regular season play was a bit worse than his usual output, with a .878 OPS.
When that’s a down season, you know you have set the bar really high.
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