TODAY: Harper left the game due to tightness in his lower back. Girardi told MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki and other reporters that Harper might not play in today’s game, though Harper’s recurring back issues aren’t thought to be a long-term issue. “I think he’ll be a player for us on Friday,” Girardi said, referring to Philadelphia’s next game.
JUNE 15: Phillies star right fielder Bryce Harper was removed from tonight’s game against the Dodgers in the fourth inning, reports Matt Gelb of The Athletic. “Looks like he hurt his back on a swing,” according to Gelb.
Harper was day-to-day with lower back tightness at one point in mid-April, but only took one day off for the issue. He suffered a terrifying injury later that month, taking a Genesis Cabrera fastball to his left cheek. He actually avoided the IL immediately after that one, dealing with various nagging injuries until the Phillies put him on the shelf for a left forearm contusion in late May. Phils manager Joe Girardi wasn’t particularly forthcoming during that period, so who knows what we’ll get on the latest Harper injury. The Phillies, 4.5 games back in both the NL East and the Wild Card at the time of this writing, can’t afford an extended absence from Harper.
Meanwhile, we learned today that Phillies shortstop Didi Gregorius has been slow to recover from an elbow injury due to something called “pseudogout.” According to the Mayo Clinic, pseudogout is “a form of arthritis characterized by sudden, painful swelling in one or more of your joints.” Gregorius last played for the Phillies on May 12th.
fun
Great great contract.
I don’t see anything wrong with it. Maybe you should worry about your own team’s massive deals. I’m willing to bet that Harper holds up better than Mookie in the next decade. Those 5′ 9″/180 frames don’t have particularly great track records.
Mookie’s contract is going to be adorable. He’s McCutchen part 2. Dominant for a period of time, then falls off once his bat speed slows. It’s already starting. Lol.
Like Willie Mays?
I’ve long thought that McCutchen was the perfect comparison for Mookie Betts. I also agree with you that those guys don’t typically hold up very well over time.
Offense was really clicking again. This sucks. Year of the injury has not been fun.
Thoughts and prayers for a speedy recovery.
The Phillies need to be sellers at the deadline. It’s ok to take one step back to try to take 2-steps forward.
Too early to tell. Mets roadtrip will tell us a lot about them. Phillies have been playing much better lately.
And they have what like 3 double headers in the next 2 weeks
Mets road trip? Mets have already played 34 road games and only 26 at home. They have a 4 game trip to Washington and then right back home. Mets are also 6-3 vs Phillies.
Sell who? Neris is a rental and won’t be viewed as a top-flight reliever.
Hoskins has slumped badly and 1B/DH haven’t returned that much via trade.
Maybe a team bites on Segura or the Phils are willing to trade Eflin but I don’t see how either move helps them to contend in 2022 either.
Wheeler is a valuable trade piece, but trading Wheeler leaves the Phillies with a bad rotation for the next few years.
Yeah no way they can be sellers. They either buy to try to fill gaps or stand pat and try to make moves that will help them next year.
I think Wheelers contract isn’t a contract you see moved at the trade deadline. Maybe the off-season.
I could see Herrera or McCutchen being dealt, since they’re basically gone after this year anyway.
What’s the point of selling then if there’s no value in what u trade away ??
The headliner for every player mentioned except wheeler is some dude u never heard of and who will never make an impact on your major league roster.
Segura, Herrera and Eflin all have 1-2 rWAR on the year from what I can remember, they are valuable players. McCutchen still has a very good bat, if he can find time on some team where he’s not on the field he would be valuable.
Not every trade is some blockbuster. I remember the Phillies traded for a ton of mediocre players in 2018-2019 (Asdrubal Cabrera, Jay Bruce, etc.). Inconsistent outfielders like Herrera and McCutchen have trade value, even if it may be small. Phillies might as well trade any impending free agents they can if their playoff situation seems dire later on.
Look at the Cardinals 2011 WS additions. Furcal (on the downslope of his career) Edwin Jackson, Dotel, Rzepczynski. Not all trades are huge names only that pay off.
It’s funny because Phillie fans were certain Kapler was the one holding them back. Turns out, they just weren’t that good.
I didn’t think Kapler was good in Philly, but I also didn’t think he was the problem. The bullpen and lack of support from secondary players was the issue, and both were never fixed. I think they’re much better this year on paper than what their record shows, but I still don’t think they’re very good.
Phillies fans thought Klentak was the problem also. So just what has the savior Dombrowski done, lol
@Phillls can’t judge DD yet. Let him get through the trade deadline first. He really inherited Klentak’s team and so far the only real moves he made were re-signing JTR and Didi.
He signed Moore, Anderson, Kintzler, Joyce. Re-signed Hale. Awesome moves, lol. Too early to tell if Bradley was a good signing…..
Who’s to say Klentak wouldn’t have signed Gregorious and Realmuto? Does anyone really think they signed just because Dombrowski offered the contract, not Klentak? Middleton controls the money, not the GM. Dombrowski didn’t magically find more money for them. These aren’t super Dombrowski moves.
Cellar at deadline too…
They’re in 2nd place. 5 games back with the 1st place team having a very tough second half schedule. While there’s nothing to get too excited about, it’s certainly not the end of the world. Phillies can win this division. They probably won’t, but they can. They’ve been playing well in June. Lost 2 tough games in a row to the Dodgers that they easily could’ve won.
See? This is why you don’t ban substances in the middle of a season.
“…..though Harper’s recurring back issues aren’t thought to be a long-term issue.”
Hmmm, wouldn’t recurring basically mean they’ve already been long-term?
I take it means he’s having some back spasms which are fixable, rather than something structural like a slipped disc that would require surgery, but I’m reading into it.
Always worried about back things though.
Yep. Something is causing it. Sometimes it’s not easy to find the cause/trigger for things like this. I have a lot of experience in this, being a chronic pain sufferer. It took awhile before the specialists identified the cause.
Hopefully they find whatever it is with him, so he can get the proper treatment.
He wasn’t playing today vs Kershaw anyway. Plus he knows what it is.
Corporal Girardi is not the right guy to. run the Phillie’s dugout! He is 50 years behind the times even though that is the way he likes it. The FO made a big mistake hiring this martinet on the basis of what he did. with the Yankees in New York. Different team, different era.