The Philadelphia Phillies should feel fortunate with how quickly Bryce Harper returned from Tommy John surgery.
His original timeline was not supposed to have him back on the field until the All-Star break.
Instead, he was able to return at the beginning of May and has not missed a beat.
Even though Harper is still not cleared to throw, he can swing.
He will remain the Phillies’ primary DH as he was just about all of last season.
Still, the Phillies do not want to overuse their superstar.
That is why they will be giving him planned days off throughout the season.
According to Todd Zolecki, Harper received a maintenance day on Tuesday, which was his first day off since May 2.
There’s nothing wrong with Bryce Harper, FYI. Just getting a day off after playing every game since his return on May 2. This gives him consecutive days with no game yesterday.
— Todd Zolecki (@ToddZolecki) May 30, 2023
With the Phillies having an off day on Monday, they wanted to give Harper back-to-back days of rest.
If the Phillies want any chance of returning to the World Series it will be behind the bat of Harper.
So it makes sense they will look to keep him fresh for the remainder of the season.
The issue is that when Harper sits their lineup gets substantially worse.
On Tuesday, the Phillies were only able to scratch up two hits in their shutout loss to the New York Mets.
The Phillies need a few of their hitters to step up around Harper.
Most notably, Trea Turner and Kyle Schwarber.
If those two can start to play like the All-Stars they are, the Phillies should be in good shape.
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