PHILADELPHIA — Every season, pitchers try to jam Bryce Harper inside. And every season, the Phillies slugger seems to get rapped on his hand, wrist or elbow, causing him to miss time.
“I mean, any game that you’re going to miss, it’s tough,” Harper said Friday, with the NL East rival New York Mets in town. “I don’t want to be sitting over here missing games or anything like that. Obviously, the Mets are having a great year, and this is a big series early in the year. Both teams are tied up there for first place.
“I’m pretty jealous on a Friday night at the Bank against the Mets. It’s always a fun atmosphere. Their fans usually come in and we get pretty rowdy. So it’s always a fun series.”
Harper was drilled on the elbow, the same elbow on which he had Tommy John surgery in 2022, with a 95-mph fastball by the Atlanta Braves’ Spencer Strider on May 27. He missed five games and came back to play against the Toronto Blue Jays. But then his right wrist, which hampered him much of last season, became an issue again with painful inflammation.
“I feel like when I came back and I was feeling the pain, it just wasn’t a pain that I could tolerate on the field,” Harper said. “I understand what I can tolerate and what I can’t. I’ve played through pain in my career, I think everybody has, right? When I can play through the pain, I do, and I got to the point where I just couldn’t do it.”
Harper has been on the injured list since June 7. He said whenever he gets back on the field, he plans to armor up with padding on his right wrist and elbow, even after he’s fully healthy.
“I wore the arm guard when I came back for those couple games in Toronto, so I’ll continue to do that,” he said.
Harper is making progress, though there’s still no timetable for his return. He took swings off the tee for the first time on Friday and reported feeling good.
“Obviously, I taped my wrist, so I didn’t tape it today,” he said. “So I just wore this (brace) and it felt good as I was swinging. …It’s the first day swinging a bat, so I’ll just have to see how it feels tomorrow and see if we can progress.”
Harper was hitting .258 with nine home runs, 34 RBIs and an .814 on-base percentage before going on the IL. In his absence, recently called-up Otto Kemp has seen time at first base, and he’ll play wherever manager Rob Thomson can fit him in, including platooning him with Max Kepler in left field after Harper returns.
Weston Wilson was sent to Triple-A Lehigh Valley to get more reps on Thursday, not hitting enough at the big league level to work in such a platoon. The righty was hitting just .194, including 5-for-29 against lefties.
“His hitting is really strong right now, and he’s in good place, so it’s probably mostly first and left, maybe a little at third when Alec has a day off,” Thomson said of Kemp. “Obviously, what you’re seeing from him, he’s handling the pitching. He’s having good at-bats and he’s doing exactly what he did his whole life, and that’s use the field and drive the ball to right-center field.”
The righthanded Kemp entered this series hitting .282 with a pair of doubles, a walk and 4 RBIs in 49 at-bats. He said he’s starting to feel more acclimated to life in the bigs, which has included playing more at first base.
“It’s been a good couple weeks, I feel like I’m starting to build a routine, starting to get a little bit comfortable being able to play,” Kemp said. “It’s awesome that they’ve been able to trust me with that. I feel like the dust is settling a little bit, getting to work with all of the staff, them getting to know me as much as I’m getting to know them. It’s been nice to get comfortable with everybody.”
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The Phillies clubhouse was feeling energized as this series against the Mets got under way.
“It’s always a big game against these guys, anyone in the division,” said Brandon Marsh, who drove in a run with an RBI single in the fourth. “But yeah, especially, you know, they’re playing some good ball, we’re playing some good ball. It’s a big clash right now. This is why we play. This is going to be a really fun series and, you know, hopefully the Phils come out on top.”
The Phillies entered having won seven of eight, putting up 48 runs in that span.
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NOTES>> Thomson said he wasn’t aware if the Phillies were interested in acquiring third baseman Rafael Devers, whom the Boston Red Sox traded to San Francisco last Sunday. “Not to my knowledge,” he said. … The Phillies came into this series having won 10 of their last 14 games against the Mets at Citizens Bank Park. … Friday marked 10 years of MLB service time for Kyle Schwarber.
