Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Harper to get surgery on thumb, still hopes to play this season
PHILADELPHIA » Bryce Harper’s remarkable season of injury will take another turn Wednesday, the hope being he can turn his luck around and help out his Phillies team down the season stretch.
Manager Rob Thomson confirmed Tuesday that Harper would be hitting the surgical table for a procedure on his broken left thumb, but gave no timetable on his rehabilitation or possible return.
“We’ll have more information the next couple of days,” Thomson said, declining to give specifics on where Harper will get the surgery. “Harp’s going to come in later on in the week and address the situation, but he does plan to play.”
As for a timetable on that, Thomson added, “I’m not going to get into specifics. Harp will discuss that when he gets back. No timeline” on it.
Harper was trying to get out of the way of a high and very tight, 97 mph fastball by Padres left-hander Blake Snell Saturday night in San Diego. In turning his shoulder away from the pitch, he exposed his hand on the bat, the ball hitting cleanly off the thumb.
Harper immediately went down and when helped by a trainer, Harper shouted at Snell out of frustration. Moments later he waved to the pitcher before leaving the field and reportedly later texted an apology.
“I’ve got to be positive for the guys in here,” Harper told reporters afterward. “I know they’ll pick up the slack. I’m just really bummed for the organization, the guys, the city of Philadelphia, the fans. I love running out there and playing every day. “… Definitely bummed.” In many observers’ eyes, Harper was on his way to a pos
sible second straight MVP season. He’s hitting .318 with 15 home runs, 48 RBIs and has fashioned a .985 OPS. He has been a fulltime designated hitter for much of the season, thanks to an elbow problem that could require surgery after the season.
Thomson said he didn’t think Harper had considered surgery on the elbow at the same time he’s getting his thumb fixed.
“It’s probably the best thing for him,” Thomson said of the thumb repair. “So whatever’s best for him is best for me. If he’s able to come back, which we plan on, then that’s good, under the circumstances. He’s not happy about that, not being able to play because he wants to play. But he’s looking forward to getting back (near) the end of the year.”
As for what his team will do until then, Thomson talked about other players stepping up, but admitted “there’s no replacing (Harper).
“If you’re alluding to the fact that we’re going to run a little bit more or do those kinds of things, we’re not going to force the issue,” Thomson added. “If we don’t think we can steal we’re not going to force it, and we still do have a lot of ‘slug’ in the lineup. … We might change a little bit, but other than that we still should score a lot of runs.”
That’s pretty much what the Atlanta Braves did in 2021, having started the season slow, then losing top player Ronald Acuna Jr. to a season-ending injury. The Braves promptly picked themselves up and marched to a World Series title.
“How I view it is when somebody goes down like that, it’s an opportunity for somebody else to step in and do something really good,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said Wednesday prior to his team’s game against the Phillies. “It never fazed our guys one bit all year. These guys keep playing, they keep preparing, they keep doing what they do.”
And as for the what the Phils might do now, Snitker added, “There’s still a lot of thunder in that lineup.”