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Bryce Harper, Shohei Ohtani Win MVP Awards

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Bryce Harper and Shohei Ohtani have been named the respective league Most Valuable Players, according to announcements from the Baseball Writers Association of America. It’s the second MVP of Harper’s career, while Ohtani’s a first-time winner.

Harper led all hitters (minimum 500 plate appearances) by measure of wRC+ this past season. His .309/.429/.615 line checked in 70 percentage points above the league average. The Phillies star ranked sixth in the National League with 35 home runs and paced the league with 42 doubles, leading to an NL-best slugging percentage. Harper also drew plenty of walks, as he does on an annual basis, leading to the second-highest on-base percentage in the Senior Circuit.

The six-time All-Star was especially great down the stretch. Over the season’s second half, Harper mashed at a .338/.476/.713 clip, helping him earn his second career Silver Slugger award as well. Harper didn’t rate particularly well defensively, but that sheer offensive excellence was enough to take the crown. This kind of season is no doubt what the Phils had in mind when signing him to a record-breaking $330MM free agent contract. He’ll remain in Philly through 2031, and the organization and fanbase can hope for a few more seasons of this ilk from the likely future Hall of Famer.

Harper appeared on all 30 ballots, garnering 17 first-place votes. That was enough to edge out the Nationals’ Juan Soto and the Padres’ Fernando Tatís Jr., the other two NL finalists. Soto picked up six first-place votes after posting a .313/.465/.534 line and pacing the league in on-base percentage. Tatís bopped a league-best 42 homers while playing a good chunk of the season at shortstop, a performance that earned him two first-place votes. Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford and Nationals/Dodgers infielder Trea Turner were the other players to receive first-place nods, enough to finish in fourth and fifth place, respectively.

Voting in the American League was far more resounding, as Ohtani claimed the award unanimously. It’s easy to understand why, as he’s coming off a season unlike any we’ve seen in recent memory. As a hitter, the 27-year-old mashed at a .257/.372/.592 clip. He popped 46 home runs, a mark that trailed only Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Salvador Pérez in the AL. Only Guerrero had a higher slugging percentage (again minimum 500 PA), while Guerrero, Yuli Gurriel, Yoan Moncada and Aaron Judge were the group to top Ohtani in on-base percentage.

That work at the plate alone would have been enough to get Ohtani on MVP ballots, but his additional contributions on the mound made him an easy choice for voters. After injuries limited his pitching workload over his first two big league seasons, Ohtani stayed mostly healthy in 2021 and logged a career-best 130 1/3 frames. He pitched to a 3.18 ERA that was ninth-lowest among the 64 AL hurlers with 100+ innings. Ohtani’s 29.3% strikeout rate checked in sixth among that same group, while he placed fifth in strikeout/walk rate differential (21 percentage points) and sixth in SIERA (3.61). He’s controllable through 2023 via arbitration, although it stands to reason the Angels would love to work out an extension to keep the two-way star in the fold for the long-term.

While Ohtani’s historic showing took the suspense out of the result, that’s not to say there weren’t worthy challengers. Guerrero led the AL in both on-base and slugging en route to a second-place finish. 29 voters placed Guerrero second on their ballot, with the only other second-place nod going to Pérez. Guerrero’s teammate with the Blue Jays, Marcus Semien, easily finished in third place, followed by Judge and Carlos Correa.

Full balloting results available.

Images courtesy of USA TODAY Sports.

NL East Notes: Harper, Phillies, Davis, Mets, Nationals

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For players eager to win now, they usually want their teams to add veteran players to help put the club over the top.  Bryce Harper may be an exception, as when speaking to The Athletic’s Matt Gelb and other reporters following the Phillies’ season-ending loss to the Marlins, Harper stressed that “we can’t just keep going out and buying and buying and buying.  We need homegrown talent. When you look at teams that have homegrown talent, those are the teams that have success….We need guys to come up from the minor leagues and have success and be successful.  Not have to go up and down.”

Aaron Nola and Rhys Hoskins stand out as recent success stories from Philadelphia’s player pipeline, but apart from that duo, the Phillies have struggled to find consistent contributions from within the organizations.  Highly-touted youngsters like Alec Bohm, Scott Kingery, Mickey Moniak, and Adam Haseley have yet to make much of an impact at the big league level, and Gelb notes that the Phils have been lacking a streamlined approach throughout the organization — there appears to be “a disconnect between what was taught below and preached in the majors.”  The Phillies are already making changes in the player development department and are on the lookout for a new hitting coach, though it remains to be seen if the team can figure out this “disconnect” while still addressing their 2022 needs and being competitive next season.

More from around the NL East…

  • J.D. Davis will undergo surgery Tuesday to fix a torn ligament in his left hand.  The Mets infielder played in only 73 games this season due to four separate trips to the injured list related to his hand injury, and Davis told The New York Daily News’ Deesha Thosar and other reporters that he expects to have a normal offseason after his surgery, so he should be ready for Spring Training.  As to whether or not he’ll be at the Mets’ camp is another question, as after a year of trade rumors, Davis said his “gut feeling” is that he “could be out of here” and headed to another team.  “It’s kind of 50/50, kind of a flip of the coin,” Davis said.  “I know there’s going to be plenty of changes up and down from the front office all the way down to here….But there’s a possibility that I could come back. I love New York.  I love the fans.”
  • As Davis mentioned, the Mets will be undergoing many changes, including a possible overhaul of the coaching staff that could include manager Luis Rojas.  Of all the coaches, The New York Post’s Mike Puma (Twitter link) believes pitching coach Jeremy Hefner is the likeliest to remain in Queens.  2021 is the last guaranteed year of Hefner’s original two-year contract, but the Mets hold a club option on Hefner’s services for next season.
  • The Nationals definitively won’t be making a change at pitching coach, as manager Davey Martinez told reporters (including MASNsports.com’s Mark Zuckerman) on Saturday that Jim Hickey for a second season on Washington’s staff.  Other changes could be forthcoming to the coaching corps, however, and president of baseball operations Mike Rizzo told Zuckerman and company today that the Nationals are “certainly going to make some changes in the player development and scouting ranks.”  The idea is that “ten or 12 years with the same staff shows the cohesion, and then when you make some nice tweaks to get a new set of eyes and some new ideas is never a bad thing,” Rizzo said.

Injury Notes: Harper, Higgins, Hoerner, Topa

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Phillies star right fielder Bryce Harper was hit in the left leg by a Jacob deGrom change-up during a bunt attempt today. He ran the bases, but Travis Jankowski replaced him in the field for the bottom half of the inning. The ball skipped off the ground before hitting Harper’s leg, so it’s likely to be a short layoff for Harper. That said, nothing is certain at this point, including Harper’s availability for Sunday, writes Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia.

While we await an update on Harper, let’s circle up and check-in elsewhere around the Senior Circuit…

  • Cubs backup catcher P.J. Higgins has been diagnosed with a partially torn UCL that will require Tommy John surgery, per Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune (via Twitter). Luckily for the Cubs, starter Willson Contreras was back in the lineup today after getting hit by a pitch on the hand yesterday, Montemurro adds. Higgins collected his first Major League hit this season but went just 1-for-23 at the plate in nine games. [UPDATE: Higgins is actually getting right forearm flexor tendon surgery, Montemurro was among those to report, not a Tommy John procedure.]
  • Nico Hoerner will begin a rehab assignment at Triple-A tomorrow, writes Tim Stebbins of NBC Sports Chicago. He strained his hamstring on May 25th after beginning to establish himself as a galvanizing presence on both sides of the ball. With slick glovework at the keystone, Hoerner is one of the Cubs’ better defenders, and he brought his hot bat from spring training into the regular season, batting .338/.405/.432 in 84 trips. Hoerner projects to return to the big-league club sometime in early July.
  • The Brewers don’t have an exact timeline for the return of reliever Justin Topa, but manager Craig Counsell sounds optimistic in saying, “He’s not crazy far from game action,” per Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (via Twitter). Topa injured his elbow during spring training and has yet to make his season debut. He made six quality appearances as a 29-year-old rookie for the Brewers in 2020, pitching to a 2.35 ERA in 7 2/3 innings.

Bryce Harper Removed From Game Due To Back Tightness

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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.

Phillies Reinstate Bryce Harper From Injured List

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Bryce Harper has been reinstated from the 10-day injured list, the Phillies announced.  A roster spot for Harper was created when right-hander Hector Neris was placed on the paternity list.

Harper hit the IL due to a forearm contusion on May 25, and his activation comes as a bit of a surprise since manager Joe Girardi said just yesterday that the outfielder wasn’t yet ready to rejoin the Phillies’ lineup.  Another 24 hours of treatment seems to have done the trick, however, and Harper will now get back into action.

Beyond the forearm contusion, wrist and shoulder troubles have bothered Harper this season, with the wrist problem perhaps being the biggest factor in a 2-for-25 slump for Harper prior to his IL placement.  Even with that slump weighing down his numbers, Harper is still in the midst of a tremendous season, hitting .274/.395/.489 with seven home runs over 162 plate appearances.

Harper’s return brings an enormous boost to a Philadelphia squad that is still missing Didi Gregorius and Scott Kingery to injury, while Roman Quinn is out for the season due to a ruptured Achilles tendon.  Brad Miller has handled most of the right field duties in Harper’s absence, and the utilityman might now be shifted over to shortstop or third base.

Phillies Place Bryce Harper On Injured List

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The Phillies announced that right fielder Bryce Harper is headed to the 10-day injured list with a forearm contusion. Harper was out of the team’s lineup both Sunday and Monday. Outfielder Roman Quinn is up from Triple-A to take Harper’s spot on the roster for now.

Harper, 28, got out to a brilliant start and still touts a very strong .274/.395/.489 slash through his first 162 trips to the plate. However, that slash line sat at .318/.449/.582 mark as recently as 10 days ago, before Harper fell into a 2-for-25 tailspin.

Manager Joe Girardi maintained yesterday that his absence from the lineup was not due to injury (link via MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki), but Harper was previously said to be battling various arm ailments (including shoulder and wrist troubles) and hasn’t looked right at the plate at all, punching out in 13 of 26 plate appearances during that woeful slump. The team will surely have more on his IL placement later today.

Bryce Harper, J.T. Realmuto Day-To-Day With Injuries

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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.

Phillies Notes: Velasquez, Harper, Segura, Maton

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The Phillies held on to secure a nail-biting win over the Brewers last night, and they did so largely on the strength of a strong outing from enigmatic righty Vince Velasquez. The 28-year-old righty has been in and out of the rotation over the past several years, but Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia suggests that he’s put himself in line for another look after his recent stretch. The Phils haven’t gotten much out of their offseason investment in Matt Moore, and at least for the time being, Velasquez has pitched well enough that it’d be hard to justify putting him back in the ’pen even now that Moore is back from the IL. Manager Joe Girardi has yet to confirm who’ll take the ball when the fifth spot in the rotation comes up again this weekend, but if he wants to ride the hot hand, Velasquez has a 3.24 ERA and 19-to-8 K/BB ratio in his past 16 2/3 frames.

More on the Phils…

  • Phillies right fielder Bryce Harper is dealing with a left wrist problem, though manager Joe Girardi doesn’t expect him to go on the injured list, Todd Zolecki of MLB.com tweets. The issue cropped up last week, causing Harper to sit out the Phillies’ games on Friday and Saturday. Harper returned to their lineup Sunday, but he re-aggravated the injury then, and he wasn’t in Monday’s lineup as a result. The hope is that he’ll return in the next couple of days. The Phillies have used a combination of Matt Joyce, Roman Quinn and Odubel Herrera in right when Harper as been unavailable, but their numbers have left plenty to be desired. Harper, on the other hand, has slashed a tremendous .317/.446/.598 with six home runs and three stolen bases over 101 plate appearances.
  • Second baseman Jean Segura and utilityman Ronald Torreyes will embark on rehab assignments this week, tweets Matt Gelb of The Athletic. The Phillies have gone without Segura since he went on the 10-day IL with a strained right quad April 21, while Torreyes landed on the Covid IL on April 19. Rookie Nick Maton has emerged at the keystone during Segura’s absence with an impressive .327/.365/.429 showing in his first 52 major league trips to the plate. To keep Maton’s bat in the lineup when Segura returns, the Phillies could give him an opportunity in center field, Girardi said. Phillies center fielders — Quinn, Herrera, Adam Haseley (who’s away from the team for personal reasons) and Mickey Moniak — have combined for an astonishingly poor .105/.190/.189 line through 105 plate appearances in 2021.
  • More from Gelb, who reports in a full column that the Phillies removed Rafael Chaves as their director of pitching development in March and promoted Travis Hergert on an interim basis. Chaves remains with the organization, but his new role isn’t clear. Hergert has just one year of experience as a professional coach, having joined the Phillies prior to 2020 after a stint at North Iowa Area Community College. Hergert is a major advocate of Driveline Baseball’s training programs, according to Gelb, who reports that not everyone in the Phillies’ player development ranks is on board. Nevertheless, the Phillies are hopeful Hergert and pitching coach Caleb Cotham will work well together with a data-driven approach.

Bryce Harper “Feels Good” After Being Hit By Pitch

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10:32 pm: The Phillies sent Harper to a hospital for evaluation, manager Joe Girardi told reporters (including Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch). Fortunately, Harper himself offered a positive update on Instagram, noting he “feels good,” that tests “came back good,” and he’ll “see (the fans) soon.”

8:59 pm: In a scary development, Phillies star outfielder Bryce Harper left thi”s evening’s game against the Cardinals after he was struck in the face by a 97 MPH fastball from St. Louis reliever Génesis Cabrera (via Matt Gelb of the Athletic). Harper was bleeding but left the field under his own power and was replaced on the bases by Matt Joyce.

It’s obviously far too early to know if Harper will be forced to miss any time. The 28-year-old is off to an incredible start to the season, mashing at a .321/.448/.615 clip with six home runs over his first 96 plate appearances. The left-handed hitting slugger entered today’s game with a 190 wRC+ that ranked eighth among qualifiers.

Brad Miller and Joyce would seemingly be the likeliest candidates to pick up starts in right field if Harper winds up needing some time off. Both have been productive offensive players within the past couple seasons and Miller, in particular, is off to a strong start at the dish this year.

East Injury Notes: Kiermaier, Harper, Suero, Biggio

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The Rays activated Kevin Kiermaier off the 10-day injured list today, and he played two innings as defensive sub in Tampa Bay’s 6-3 victory over the Yankees.  It was Kiermaier’s first appearance since April 5, as a left quad strain sent the three-time Gold Glover to the IL only four games into the new season.  While still one of the sport’s best defenders when he is able to play, Kiermaier has been a frequent IL visitor over the years due to a wide variety of injuries, which is why the Rays have fortified their center field depth in the form of Manuel Margot and Brett Phillips.

More injury-related notes from around the AL East and NL East…

  • Bryce Harper is day-to-day with lower back soreness, the Phillies announced.  Harper isn’t in today’s lineup against the Cardinals, and manager Joe Girardi suggested to reporters (including MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki) that the problem may have occurred when Harper slid into second base after hitting a double in Friday’s game.  It’s something of a precautionary measure for the Phillies since Harper was bothered by back issues last season, though Zolecki noted that Harper still hit .230/.392/.467 over 158 plate appearances after August 21, when Harper’s back problems developed.  This year, of course, the Phils don’t have the luxury of periodically using Harper as a designated hitter to give him a partial rest day.
  • Wander Suero will undergo an MRI after leaving today’s game after one batter, Nationals manager Davey Martinez told The Washington Post’s Jesse Dougherty and other reporters.  Suero was removed from the game while facing his second batter, after initially walking Eduardo Escobar.  Now in his fourth season, Suero has been a solid member of the Nats’ bullpen, with a career 3.99 ERA and 25.9% strikeout rate over 149 career innings heading into today’s action.  The D.C. relief corps has already been thinned by injuries to Luis Avilan and Will Harris.
  • Cavan Biggio could potentially return to the Blue Jays’ lineup on Sunday, manager Charlie Montoyo told MLB.com’s Keegan Matheson and other reporters.  Biggio left Thursday’s game after being hit in the right hand by a line drive, though x-rays were negative and Biggio was slated to participate in batting practice and a game of catch today.
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