The Philadelphia Phillies soon will have their star outfielder reporting to camp.
Bryce Harper currently is undergoing rehabilitation after undergoing Tommy John surgery back in November. Corey Seidman of NBC Sports Philadelphia cited team president Dave Dombrowski, who estimated that Harper will join the rest of his team around March 8 or 9.
Phillies manager Rob Thomson was also optimistic about Harper’s return during a press conference on Thursday.
“I think he’s a little bit ahead,” Thomson said, H/T Seidman. “But oftentimes, you say that about a player and all the sudden they have a setback. So just knocking on wood and making sure we’re careful with how we keep progressing him.”
The original prognosis for Harper was to return by the All-Star break. The hope is to have him as the Phillies’ designated hitter in the beginning, then transition him back into the full-time right fielder. Mid-May appears to be the targetted timeframe.
Bet you National League fans love the idea of the Universal DH now, huh?
Despite the UCL injury, Harper still helped the team advance to the playoffs and face the Houston Astros in the World Series. A season .286/.364/.514 line. When it was playoff time, the two-time National League MVP went off. A .349 average with a 1.160 OPS and six home runs.
BRYCE HARPER GIVES PHILLY THE LEAD 🔥
(via @MLBONFOX)pic.twitter.com/EBb8jgndqw
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) October 23, 2022
He did so while playing through his UCL injury.
For now, Harper’s workload is light as he’s able to take practice swings. He’ll soon be able to do some tee work with some soft toss and go from there as his baseball activity increases.
Dombrowski added he had received texts from Harper and the doctors are happy with his progress.
