Phillies star Bryce Harper hit from a tee on Thursday, according to Alex Coffey of the Philadelphia Inquirer. He’s expected to take swings every other day in the near future as he continues rehabbing from November’s Tommy John surgery.
It marked Harper’s first swings since going under the knife. Manager Rob Thomson told reporters the club isn’t ruling out batting practice at some point during spring training, but he cautioned the club plans to be deliberate throughout the rehab process, via Jayson Stark of The Athletic.
All seems to be on track to this point in Harper’s recovery. The Phillies have maintained they expect him back as a designated hitter around the All-Star break. While it’s possible he could return toward the tail end of the season’s first half, both team and player have preached patience early in the rehab. It was a similar story with regard to a possible return to the outfield in 2023, which remains uncertain.
The surgery is on Harper’s throwing elbow, and he is still well off from beginning a throwing program. That obviously forecloses any possibility of him immediately stepping back into his customary right field work once he returns. He’ll be limited to designated hitter early on in his return, but neither Harper nor Thomson have ruled out possible outfield reps at the end of the season.
“It all depends on how he heals and gets into his throwing program, how all that works out” the manager said, via Mark Didtler of the Associated Press. “I don’t think it’s out of the question.” Harper added he wants “to get back out there and be in front of the fans in right field doing my stuff” but indicated there aren’t any plans “to rush back to the throwing part,” via The Athletic. Once Harper is ready for DH work, Nick Castellanos and Kyle Schwarber will take on the regular corner outfield jobs.
The two-time NL MVP is coming off an excellent .286/.364/.514 line. That’s despite playing through the elbow injury that eventually necessitated surgery and a midseason absence after fracturing his left thumb on a hit-by-pitch. He followed up with an otherworldly .349/.414/.746 showing against playoff pitching to help the Phils to a pennant.
