Phillies’ Harper to have elbow surgery next week
PHILADELPHIA — Philadelphia Phillies slugger Bryce Harper will have surgery next week to repair the tear in the ulnar collateral ligament of his right elbow that forced the outfielder to spend the bulk of this season as designated hitter.
Phillies President Dave Dombrowski said Wednesday there was no timetable on Harper’s recovery until after the surgery, which was scheduled for Nov. 23.
“We have no prognosis, really, until he goes into the elbow and takes a look at it,” Dombrowski said of the surgeon. “We’ll have something at that time with the surgery and the anticipation something will happen. I don’t think it will slow him down for the season. We’ll know more next week.”
Harper suffered the small tear in April and last played right field at Miami on April 16. He had a platelet-rich plasma injection in his right elbow in May and shifted to the designated hitter role. Harper met this week with prominent orthopedist Dr. Neal Elattrache, who determined the tear did not heal on its own, forcing the surgery.
The elbow injury did little to slow Harper’s offense. The 30-year-old led the Phillies to their first World Series since 2009, where they lost in six games to Houston.
In late June, Harper suffered a broken thumb when he was hit by a pitch and was sidelined for two months. He still hit .286 with 18 home runs and 65 RBIS for the season. He was named NLCS MVP and hit six home runs overall in the playoffs.
Dombrowski said Harper’s availability for opening day and the early part of next season may not necessarily affect his decision-making in the offseason. Nick Castellanos, Kyle Schwarber and even catcher J.T Realmuto could DH.
Mariners land slugger Hernández
The Seattle Mariners made one of the first big moves of the offseason by acquiring outfielder Teoscar Hernández from the Toronto Blue
Jays in exchange for two pitchers Wednesday.
Fresh off the team’s first playoff appearance in more than two decades, the Mariners added a slugging righthanded bat to their lineup with the acquisition of Hernández and addressed one of their offseason needs by finding a corner outfielder.
Hernández hit .267 with 25 home runs and 77 RBIS in 131 games last season for the Blue Jays and joined Mookie Betts as the only outfielders in baseball with at least 35 doubles and 25 homers. Hernández was an All-star starter in 2021 and finished that season hitting .296 with 32 homers and 116 RBIS for Toronto.
Right-handed reliever Erik Swanson and minor league lefty Adam Macko are going back to Toronto.
Swanson was 3-2 with a 1.68 ERA and 70 strikeouts in 53 2/3 innings last season.
For now, Hernández is a one-year acquisition by Seattle. He is entering his final season of being eligible for arbitration before hitting free agency after the 2023 season.
Anderson finalizes $39M deal with Angels
All-star left-hander Tyler Anderson is moving across Los Angeles, finalizing a $39 million, three-year contract with the Angels on Wednesday.
The 32-year-old was 15-5 with a 2.57 ERA this year for the Dodgers in 28 starts and two relief appearances.