The Philadelphia Phillies suffered a bit of a scare on Saturday afternoon, as Bryce Harper was forced to leave the team’s game against the Miami Marlins after taking a pitch off of his surgically repaired elbow. Harper appeared to be in considerable pain, although he stayed in the game. When it came time for his next at-bat in the top of the fifth, however, it was infielder Bryson Stott who came out of the dugout.
It looks like Bryson Stott is in for Bryce Harper.
Harper was hit by a pitch on the elbow he had surgically repaired his last time up. He looked to be in considerable pain but stayed in to run the bases.— Corey Seidman (@CSeidmanNBCS) July 8, 2023
The team has yet to offer any sort of update on Harper’s status. Given his recent injury history and the fact that the All-Star break is right around the corner, hopefully he was removed out of an abundance of caution rather than anything too serious.
Harper was diagnosed with a minor tear in the UCL of his right elbow back in May of last year. He opted to play through it rather than undergo immediate surgery, serving as the Phillies’ full-time DH while helping the the team advance all the way to the World Series. He finally went under the knife in November, with the hope that he’d be ready to return at some point in late June or early July.
Instead, the seven-time All-Star was back in Philly’s lineup by May, the fastest recovery from Tommy John surgery on record. He’s performed pretty well over his first couple of months, slashing .287/.381/.392 — although he hasn’t hit for much power, with just three homers so far this year. Still, Harper is a force in the middle of Philly’s lineup, and any extended absence would be a big blow. The Phillies had just started to turn it on of late, too, winning eight of their last 10 to pull within 1.5 games of Miami in the NL East.
