When Philadelphia Phillies‘ star Bryce Harper went down with a fractured thumb against the San Diego Padres, it was clear that the outlook wasn’t too promising. That has essentially been confirmed as Scott Lauber of the Philadelphia Inquirer reported that Bryce Harper will likely require surgery as he remains out indefinitely. Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia later confirmed that Harper would require surgery, but his season may not be over.
The news isn’t overly surprising, although it’s also not encouraging. Losing the 2021 MVP for any amount of time, especially as he was red-hot in June, is certainly less than ideal. Philadelphia has, however, rallied since winning not only Saturday night’s game (the night Harper was injured) but also the final game of the series on Sunday.
That level of success cannot just be expected to continue, however. At some point, the Phillies will feel the loss of Harper. When that moment comes, they can only hope they made, or still could make, the right moves to bring in reinforcements as someone will need to carry the load for as long as Harper is out. The good news is that it may not be for the rest of the season.
Philadelphia Phillies slugger Bryce Harper will undergo surgery on his thumb, however a chance remains that he could return to the club this season.
According to Lauber, the best-case scenario is four to six weeks that Harper misses. While that is a third to half of the remaining season, I think anyone in Philadelphia would take that considering the initial expectation. Again though, this is the best-case scenario.
The fact of the matter is that Harper could easily miss more time and whether he does or he doesn’t, it’s still a long time between now and then. A lot can happen in an MLB season in four to six weeks. The Phillies cannot sit on their hands as they wait for Harper. They must be as proactive as possible and seek to find additional reinforcements before they cost themselves a chance to compete.
It seems clear that if Harper has any say in the matter, he’ll play this season. The Phillies can’t bank on that, though, if they want to give him something to play for when he returns.