PHOENIX, AZ – AUGUST 01: Bryce Harper #34 of the Washington Nationals prepares for a game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field on August 1, 2016 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Norm Hall/Getty Images)

Washington Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper was the best player in baseball in 2015. He was worth 9.9 WAR (wins above replacement) per Baseball Reference and 9.5 WAR per FanGraphs. He had a ridiculous slash line of .330/.460/.649 and hit 42 homers.

But in 2016, the 23-year-old has looked, well, human.

Harper’s batting average (.233) and on-base percentage (.374) are down nearly a hundred points from his 2015 MVP season, and his slugging percentage (.438) is down over 200 points. And lately, things have been much worse as Sports Illustrated’s Tom Verducci explains:

Over his past 48 games Harper is hitting .208/.335/.353, with a .220 average on balls in play. Harper does not have a home run in his past 47 at-bats while hitting .128.

Harper has missed four straight games for what the Nationals have been calling neck stiffness, but Verducci is hearing from “a source close to the team” that Harper has been playing through a shoulder injury the past two months:

The Washington Nationals rightfielder and 2015 National League MVP has been playing through a right shoulder injury for the past two months, according to a source close to the team.

The injury affects the area at the top and back of his shoulder and at the base of his neck. Harper has been receiving treatment for the injury, the source said, including cupping therapy and Active Release Technique.

The injury has been particularly problematic for Harper when it comes to pulling his bottom hand through his swing, the key to creating loft and power.

Verducci adds that the cause of the injury is unknown, but that Harper is “believed to have aggravated the shoulder on a head-first slide two months ago.”

According to CSN Mid-Atlantic’s Chase Hughes, Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo quickly responded to the report, saying that “Tom Verducci is wrong” and that Harper “hasn’t had a right shoulder injury”:

… Nationals GM Mike Rizzo was informed of the article during the team’s batting practice on Friday afternoon. Rizzo walked through the dugout entrace and down the hall.

He returned 10 minutes later ready to meet the media, and wasted no time denying the report with a direct reference to the writer who put it out there.

“The report is inaccurate,” Rizzo said. “Tom Verducci is wrong. I just asked Bryce Harper and the training staff and our medical staff. He hasn’t had a right shoulder injury. He’s got a stiff neck.”

Rizzo went on to say the team still has no imminent plans to place Harper, 23, on the disabled list.

So, who knows what to believe, but Harper’s declining production over the last two months would certainly support the idea that something isn’t right with him physically.

[Sports Illustrated; CSN Mid-Atlantic]

About Matt Clapp

Matt is an editor at The Comeback. He attended Colorado State University, wishes he was Saved by the Bell's Zack Morris, and idolizes Larry David. And loves pizza and dogs because obviously.

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