10:28PM: If losing Harper wasn’t enough, J.T. Realmuto is also day-to-day after re-aggravating his left wrist injury, manager Joe Girardi told The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Scott Lauber and other reporters. Realmuto was replaced by a pinch-hitter in the eighth inning of tonight’s game. Realmuto missed two games earlier this month with what was described as an issue with his left hand. Girardi is doubtful either Harper (whose shoulder problem emerged in Saturday’s game) or Realmuto will be available tomorrow.
8:55PM: Bryce Harper left the Phillies’ game with the Blue Jays tonight due to right shoulder soreness, the Phils announced. Harper struck out swinging in both of his at-bats, and he was replaced by Scott Kingery in right field when the Phillies took the field for the bottom of the fourth inning.
This is the latest injury to hamper Harper this season, as he has previously missed time due to back soreness, a balky wrist, and (most concerning) after being hit in the face by a Genesis Cabrera fastball back on April 28. Harper has missed eight games due to these issues but hasn’t had to hit the injured list, and thus hasn’t any major interruption in what has been an outstanding season for the 28-year-old.
Harper is hitting .313/.442/.571 with seven home runs over his first 138 plate appearances, good for a spectacular 173 wRC+. While there’s obviously a long way to go in the 2021 season (and an injury could change the equation for Harper entirely), this represents Harper’s best wRC+ since his 197 number in his 2015 MVP season.
It remains to be seen if Harper’s injury will result in an IL stint, and naturally there isn’t an easy way for the Phils to truly replace his offensive production. Mickey Moniak, Travis Jankowski, and Ryan Cordell are among the top outfield options at Triple-A, and Kingery is available on the big league bench. Roman Quinn and Matt Joyce are both on the IL themselves, further thinning Philadelphia’s outfield depth.
Took a while for them to announce it too. Shame for Phillies to because they needed that bat in the lineup tonight. Especially after that 5-5 game last night
Zounds.
197 wRC+.
Now, I’ve some disagreements with wRC+. I disagree – for example – that an HBP is more valuable than a walk. One oftentimes is a measure of skill the other (bad?) luck. I also disagree with it’s specificity. I think it would be a better/more useful format if it was arranged in tiers like some of the defensive metrics.
But 197?
Jeeez, that is just So Big.
I realize it’s all genetics, but it’s not easy to not keep glancing at it.
@Ducky And yet, people will still blindly claim Harper is overrated. I’ll never understand some aspects of fandom.
The issue with trying to argue whether someone is, “overrated” is in the subjectivity of it. You’d need each person to explain and agree upon how a player is rated before discussing whether someone is over/under/fairly rated and that’s often skipped past.
Harper is good. Harper is perhaps not the generational talent he was sold as originally, so an evaluation of him depends on what you expected as a realistic output.
Fair. I think that’s it right there. I never once considered him a generational talent. I don’t know who did, but I find most people are skeptical of that kind of hype. That being said, Harper is consistently a top 15 offensive player in the league, and I think anyone who says otherwise needs to look at the numbers.
There was quite a bit of hype around him. Here’s an example.
blogs.fangraphs.com/bryce-harper-best-prospect-eve…
@Hayes
I’ve been a Yankee fan for a long time. As such, I have seen our fans boo Reggie, for example. My go-to bite sized psychological take, is that it all stems – sadly enough – from nothing more than a form of jealousy with a dash of incredibly high expectations.
@Ducky Sad, but true. I’ve seen Philly radio kill their stars constantly, and then when they’re gone the same broadcasters will talk about how breat those same players were.
lol. great. not breat.
Giants fans are already fondly reminiscing about Eli Manning. So yeah.
He’s been very overrated in the past. That 197 was an absolute outlier but folks were gushing over him like he does that every year. Even the greats can be overrated.
Oh well.
fan-freakin-tastic
Only a select few will understand…but it looks like the Halifax Demon Ducks have begun their annual collapse.
The fact that they kept Marchan on the roster made me think something was up with Realmuto.
Great, I hope this is just a matter of Harper sleeping on his shoulder wrong or something. JT I’m more concerned with cause that injury is probably gonna nag him most of the year no matter what. Unless he goes on the IL for a spell. The way this division is we can’t afford this at any point.
Talk about a miserable game to really knock the wind out of your sails. Phillies go from tied for first place, to playing a horrible game and losing 2 of their key starters (maybe 3 as McCutchen looked hurt as well). It just seems impossible for this team to carry good momentum over from one series to the next.