Price HarborThe season could be in jeopardy as the ruling NL MVP suffered a fractured thumb in Saturday’s game against Patres. Facing Blake Snell In the fourth inning, Harper had to duke to avoid a 97-mile fastball, but the pitch hit Harper’s left arm, causing pain to the Pillis slogger.
Harper left the game immediately, and Billis soon announced that initial tests revealed a fracture. More details will be known after further tests, Dave Domprovsky, head of baseball operations, told reporters (including Matt Kelp of Athletics) Too soon to say whether Harper needs surgery. So, like Domprovsky, the door is not closed when a potential harbor returns. “Hope to be back at some point. “
If surgery is needed, Harbor will miss the rest of the 2022 campaign. Although each specific injury is different, for comparison, Jean Sekura Given A recovery timeline 10-12 weeks later a Philadelphia second paceman suffered a fracture in his own finger at the end of May and had to undergo surgery.
Losing Sekura was a brutal outcome for the Pills, although the team advanced again to record the best month of the season. Phyllis set a 22-29 record under the former manager Joe GirardiBut after Girardi was removed and Rob Thompson was promoted from bench coach to interim manager, Philadelphia immediately took 15-6 as captain in Thompson’s first 21 games.
That run returned to action above the .500 mark (37-35) tonight, and three games out of the NL Wild Card Perth. However, it is hard to imagine Philadelphia relying on racing without Harper’s contribution. After Harbor and Sekura leave, Kyle Schwartz And Rice Hoskins Only regulars who hit above average.
Harper was already playing with pain, and a small UCL tear limited him to DH duty for more than two months. In the big picture, monopolizing the Harper DH space did not help Philadelphia, Schwarfer and Nick Castellanos They have been pushed into everyday corner-outfield roles, much to the detriment of Phyllis’ safety. (And maybe Castellanos’ offense because he had a low year on the plate.) The advantage is that Harper’s own bat is still on fire as he took 15 home runs and a .320 / .385 / .602 slash. Row in tonight’s game against Patres.
Harper’s UCL rip complicates matters further. If Philes lags behind in post-season racing, Harper may decide to stop the inevitable delay and have elbow surgery, thus stopping him in 2022, but making sure he doesn’t lose anything in the 2023 season.
Although injuries have long been a supplement to Harper’s career, he has been relatively enduring in recent years, playing in 515 of the 546 possible matches since 2018-21. With this, Harper continues to produce at the Cooperstown level, including his MVP campaign last year. After previously winning the NL MVP Awards with the Nationals in 2015, Harper became the fifth player in MSP-winning baseball history to score .309 / 429 / .615 with 35 home runs and 42 league-best 42 doubles. With the Phillies last season.
Unfortunately, that product could only help the Phils to an 82-80 record – enough to snap nine consecutive unbeaten seasons, but not enough to take the club back to the playoffs. Harper’s 13-year, $ 330MM deal makes him an easy target for criticism, but it’s not Harper’s fault that he did not succeed on the Phyllis field, he has been in high numbers for three years in Philadelphia.
In the short term, the absence of Harbor frees up DH space for the Schwarper / Castellanos time division, which creates the opportunity for a major defensive upgrade. Dombrovsky said Mickey Monique Harper is called upon to take his place on the active list, although Monique is not an ideal daily solution. For now, it looks like Phyllis’ plan is to have one of the Castellanos or Schwarfer in the DH in regular order, and the other in the outfield space in one corner and Monique’s rotation. Odubel HerreraAnd Matt Whirling Includes the other two outfield positions. Down the farm, Scott Ginger, Justin Williams, Jorge BonifacioAnd Dustin Peterson Although there is no one on the list of 40 people, all the options are there.
A trade-off is a way for Billies to rectify the situation because even if the Harbor season goes on, the Billies are not going to wave the white flag over their chances of ending their playoff drought immediately. Dombrovsky may have to wait and see about Harper’s condition before deciding on the extent of his future action – if Harper’s surgery could have been avoided, it would have increased the chances of Phyllis getting a more proven daily outfielder than a complementary area.
For Billis fans looking for a silver lining, 2021 Braves is 44-44 years old. Ronald Aguna Jr. He tore his ACL last July 10th. Although Atlanta appeared to be doomed, the Braves renewed their outfield mix by trading instead. Eddie Rosario, Joke Peterson, Adam DowellAnd George Solar Before the trade deadline, and all the way up to a World Series Championship.
While it is far from certain that such a scenario could happen to another NL East team in the second consecutive season, Domprovsky is no stranger to changing the aggressive list. The way the Phyllis recovered in June has given new life to the team’s season, and Philadelphia will take an immediate and abrupt fall to switch to dealer mode before the deadline.
Photo courtesy USA Today Sports Pictures
