Reigning NL MVP Bryce Harper, on the shelf due to June surgery to repair a broken left thumb and also playing through a torn UCL in his right elbow, is backing off his throwing program due to ongoing stiffness in his right elbow, Phillies interim manager Rob Thomson told reporters this week (link via Scott Lauber of the Philly Inquirer). Harper played through that ligament tear for months before an errant Blake Snell heater broke his left thumb and forced him to the injured list, though he’d been limited to DH work because the elbow tear prevented him from throwing.
Offseason Tommy John surgery is a possibility, though there’d been some hope that after receiving an injection in May, Harper might yet be able to gut it out and play right field upon returning. For now, the Phils are just going to “concentrate on the hitting” aspect of Harper’s recovery, per Thomson, who added that there’s “no doubt in my mind” Harper will be back in the lineup this season. He still needs to regain some flexibility in his thumb, from which doctors removed three pins back on Aug. 1. Given the lengthy layoff, Harper will also need a minor league rehab assignment of some length.
More on other injury situations from around baseball…
- In another concern for the Phillies, Kyle Schwarber left today’s game with what Thomson told reporters (including The Athletic’s Matt Gelb) was a mild right calf strain. Schwarber will undergo tests but is currently considered day-to-day. With an NL-leading 34 home runs, Schwarber has provided his typical power in his first season in Philadelphia, and the Phillies can only hope that the calf strain won’t require a lengthy IL stint.
- Outfielder Yonathan Daza suffered what the Rockies described as a left shoulder sprain in today’s game against the Cardinals. Daza suffered the injury while making a running catch to rob Nolan Arenado of a hit in the first inning, as the momentum took Daza to the ground and he immediately grabbed at his shoulder. Now in his third MLB season, Daza has hit .299/.345/.367 over 307 plate appearances with Colorado in 2022, getting the majority of playing time as the Rockies’ starting center fielder.
- Will Harris has yet to pitch in 2022, and the veteran reliever has now suffered another setback in the form of a groin injury. (The Washington Post’s Andrew Golden was among those to report the news.) Harris underwent thoracic outlet syndrome surgery in June 2021 and then a related pectoral surgery last March, but the righty seemed to be on the way back when he started a minor league rehab assignment in late July. However, Harris hasn’t pitched with the Nationals’ Triple-A affiliate since August 2, bringing fresh doubt as to whether or not he can return to a big league mound before the season is over. It is possible Harris has already thrown his last pitch as a National, since his three-year, $24MM deal with the team is up at season’s end.
- Twins pitching prospect Matt Canterino will undergo Tommy John surgery this month, as initially reported by SKOR North’s Darren Wolfson (Twitter link). Canterino has been plagued by elbow injuries for the better part of two seasons, limiting the right-hander to just 60 total innings since the start of the 2021 minor league season. As Twins assistant GM Jeremy Zoll told The St. Paul Pioneer Press’ Betsy Helfand and other reporters, “it felt like we didn’t have any more stones to turn over, and Matt was feeling like surgery was the right call for him to try and get him back up and running from there.” Canterino was the Twins’ second-round pick in the 2019 draft, and he has an impressive 1.48 ERA and 39.16% strikeout rate over 85 career innings in pro ball. As per the normal timeline for TJ recovery, Canterino won’t be back until August 2023 at the absolute earliest, and it is quite possible he’ll be sidelined until Spring Training 2024.
Hope Schwarber is okay. There’s only so many injuries a team could survive.
See the Rays.
Yea. I’m not even trying to say the Phillies have more or less than anyone else. Injuries happen to everyone.
No
The Mets survived without Degrom and sherzer for longer. The Phillies play better when someone goes out.
A couple of things here: You cannot compare a SP injury to an every day offensive player, especially ones like Harper or Schwarber. Granted deGrom and Scherzer are two of the best in the world, but they still only go once ever 6 starts, and still need bats to score runs. Furthermore, I think the 2022 Mets were built to withstand injury, especially considering they’re one of the oldest teams in baseball. So hats off to the Mets frontoffice. Lastly, the idea that the Phillies are somehow better with these injuries is just ridiculous. Harper was tearing it up before his injury, and Schwarber is amongst the league leaders in HRs. Injuries happen. Good teams deal with it. Hopefully the Phillies can.
every 5 starts*
Harper and Schwarber going down really sucks, as a Mets fan I want to watch the best play against us so to know who truly comes out on top. Hopefully they come back soon and it turns out to be a good and fair race to the end.
It’s worse to have your 2 aces out then a position player! You can win with great pitching but with bad pitching you can only outscore teams to win. Phillies have gone on a huge run without harper cause their bullpen stabilized and starting pitching has been pretty solid.
I disagree completely. Harper has more value than an ace as he playe every day and changes the entire structure of the lineup. Ace is valuable once every 5 games and even then they don’t win all the time.
A pitcher pitches once every 5 days, but gets the equivalent of 25 ABs. And replacing an ace with your #6 SP is a huge difference compared with replacing your #1 outfielder with your #4.
The RS MO this century is to try to get two co-aces, and 3 mediocre starters. Combine that staff with some offense, and it is surprisingly easy to win 90+.
I think it’s team dependent. The Phillies were a team built on offense. Losing Harper could have sunk them. The Mets are made moves expecting deGrom and Max to miss time. So they were covered. It’s all about team structure.
Can’t wait for upcoming sweep by the Phils. It has to happen, right? After what Keith said. It just has to happen. The baseball G-ds need remove their blessing shield from the Mets.
Good luck sweeping Bassett, Sherzer and Degrom.
Good luck learning to spell Scherzer. $43mm and you can’t spell his name.
Without Schwarber forget it. He is a huge advantage as a lefty and a power hitter. Can’t replace that!
Not too worried yet about Schwarber. Just in the way that he exited today it seemed like he was more removed for precautionary reasons anyways. Shame they lost today though, even if a lot seemed to break the wrong way and they were kinda due. Not too concerned about potentially a rough NYM series, but ending the weekend potentially having lost four in a row or even 3 of 4 is a tough pill to swallow with the rest of the NL’s best also winning in bunches recently.
That’s the thing, everyone is winning. Phils won 12 of 13 and only gained like a game. It’s wild. All the contenders are hot.
Not even sure why people are saying ATL has hit the skids. It was just one rough series and they weren’t exactly destroyed during it.
Aw poor Brycey and Schwarbey
And Max Fried to the 7 day concussion list which I did not know was a thing.
Those numbers would look good in Chicago…but DF’s in the FO DFA’d him. Great move.
Heal up. Baseball fans should be salivating for a great September race to the finish line
Harper was not ” gutting it out”, or will be when he returns. He has a slight inner elbow tear to the ligament. There is no pain whatsoever, other than throwing the ball. Most likely it will heal completely with rest, a n d there will be no surgery.
Unfortunately, the rest plan didn’t seem to work, as he recently experienced soreness. So now the “experts” are assuming surgery in the offseason. Harper will return in September as a DH option, but will not play OF.
Just give Harper some of the drugs I took to keep my sham career going and he’ll be juuuuuust fine.
‘93 WS repeat.
Wow, a Tommy John surgery for Harper would lock him into DH for next season too. If he is able to do that full time. This man can’t catch a reprieve anywhere.
Return time for a non pitcher is significantly shorter…….
That may be but it’s still hard to throw in from right field hard…….