Phillies star right fielder Bryce Harper was hit in the left leg by a Jacob deGrom change-up during a bunt attempt today. He ran the bases, but Travis Jankowski replaced him in the field for the bottom half of the inning. The ball skipped off the ground before hitting Harper’s leg, so it’s likely to be a short layoff for Harper. That said, nothing is certain at this point, including Harper’s availability for Sunday, writes Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia.
While we await an update on Harper, let’s circle up and check-in elsewhere around the Senior Circuit…
- Cubs backup catcher P.J. Higgins has been diagnosed with a partially torn UCL that will require Tommy John surgery, per Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune (via Twitter). Luckily for the Cubs, starter Willson Contreras was back in the lineup today after getting hit by a pitch on the hand yesterday, Montemurro adds. Higgins collected his first Major League hit this season but went just 1-for-23 at the plate in nine games. [UPDATE: Higgins is actually getting right forearm flexor tendon surgery, Montemurro was among those to report, not a Tommy John procedure.]
- Nico Hoerner will begin a rehab assignment at Triple-A tomorrow, writes Tim Stebbins of NBC Sports Chicago. He strained his hamstring on May 25th after beginning to establish himself as a galvanizing presence on both sides of the ball. With slick glovework at the keystone, Hoerner is one of the Cubs’ better defenders, and he brought his hot bat from spring training into the regular season, batting .338/.405/.432 in 84 trips. Hoerner projects to return to the big-league club sometime in early July.
- The Brewers don’t have an exact timeline for the return of reliever Justin Topa, but manager Craig Counsell sounds optimistic in saying, “He’s not crazy far from game action,” per Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (via Twitter). Topa injured his elbow during spring training and has yet to make his season debut. He made six quality appearances as a 29-year-old rookie for the Brewers in 2020, pitching to a 2.35 ERA in 7 2/3 innings.
Harper needs to man up!
To be fair Harper stole 2 bases after getting plunked and he seems to be 1 of 3 or 4 players on the Phillies who actually knows how to play baseball. The Phillies are a huge disaster with very little help in the minors.
Well put, VPH…$200,000,000 roster of 4 to 6 actual big leaguers and the rest AAAA players, with no help in sight…a decade of rebuilding had yielded almost zero results…
Thoughts and prayers for a speedy recovery.
Wait, you mean spending money doesn’t automatically make you a good team? That doesn’t conform to what I normally read on here.
Is there any truth to the rumor that billionaire owner, John Middleton, is angry that his money is being wasted on “losing” Philly ball players? If he decides to cut payroll, do you think he will start with superstar, Bryce Harper, who has 10 years to go on his $25M/yr contract? Harper is a good player, at 28, but will he continue to play well until he is 38? He is already looking for time off for the slightest little injury. I read on another thread that Chaim Bloom, GM of the. Red Sox, could be willing to talk to the Phils FO, if they would let Harper go at a 25% discount. The Red Sox have a few young players they might be willing to move in such a deal. Any thoughts?
Harper has a full non-trade clause. So it’s actually up to him whether he wants to go to another team, not Middleton.
stay away from drugs..idles the brain
true. It is a little questionable that he come out of professional baseball game on change up that hit dirt first. Why they check degrom after 4 innings for substance again. Was it sanctioned by Gerardi?
There’s nothing questionable about it. He’s been playing hurt all year. Whether it hit the dirt or not doesn’t matter. It was deGrom so it was still a 90+ MPH pitch…change up or not. Got drilled right in the shin and had a limp. If this isn’t Harper, no one questions it. But people love to hate Harper.
*Justin Topa in the title
Once again, no one knows how to bunt, its borderline impossible to bunt high velo and the amounts of outs+injury risk bunting gives you should have already been more than enough for us all to put it to rest.
It’s Bryce Harper FFS, no one pays money to watch him fake-hit the ball 30 feet.
Fans should be able to sue the manager for making power hitters bunt, disgusting behavior and a losing mindset. It doesn’t work enough anymore, let hitters hit.
Oof
Harper got hit by the pitch. Wasn’t his fault deGrom threw way inside. Bunting against the shift isn’t a bad idea, especially against a pitcher who dominates everybody.
Agreed. The object is to win the game, not try to boost your power numbers. IMO the only exception is when the pitcher has a no-no going.
A successful bunt here can result in a ton of runs later; if that option is on the table, your opponents will have to consider that possibility, and that will mess with their defensive philosophy.
Hear ye, hear ye! This court is called to order for a matter of The People vs. Girardi. Will the defense please rise? Mr. Girardi, how do you plead?
More importantly to all this, DeGrom gave up 2 runs today!! That’s a headline on its own!
News flash! Bryce Harper sneezed today and was forced to leave the game. His new complaint was empty head syndrome. He could miss as many as 4 games. He will be reevaluated then. More later.
sounds like an ailment you’re very faniliar with.
There’s always some knucklehead who calls a player soft cuz they get injured, as if injury weren’t part of the game.
Just having a little fun. Lighten up Francis.
Francis? What nonsense is this now?
A quote from the movie Stripes. Sgt. Hulka tells this ultra serious kook to “Lighten up, Francis” Get the correlation now? Or do you need anything else spelled out?
Ah, ok. Infantile and dismissive, but at least now I get the reference.
Cosmo2 Yes, I play MLB. Its also known as glass player syndrome, Very common to Harper.
I just think it’s dumb to get angry at a player and put them down because they had the audacity to get hurt during an athletic activity.
Dude got a hit by a changeup…..in the leg….that bounced. Calling BH out for that weak shiz, is totally fair game. So lighten up, Francis.
Exactly!
Calling me Francis is pretty childish and fits right in with your nonsensical take in Bryce Harper’s toughness. Francis, Karen… has this country become a bunch of morons who can’t debate like adults? Some here apparently have.
Lighten up, Francis.
Cosmo enters the comments calling people “knuckleheads” and “morons”, then questions an ability to debate like an adult. Indeed, lighten up, Francis.
total Karen action there
Glass player syndrome? Harper has been playing hurt all year and always plays hard. Ridiculous comment.
@quonset point I was having so much fun, I overlooked this guy’s hypocrisy. Thanks for pointing it out. Its only a baseball player we are talking about, not someone who can make a difference in today’s society. Its all in fun and shouldn’t be taken as a slap in the face.
Define hurt.
Great reference to the great Francis Sawyer. Whoops… Psycho
Using the word Karen to dismiss someone else’s point has to be the most idiotic childish thing a person can do. Sheep following obnoxious trends.
Travis doing well.
Everything gonna be ok…..
“Phillies star right fielder Bryce Harper was hit in the left leg by a Jacob deGrom change-up during a bunt attempt today. He ran the bases, but Travis Jankowski replaced him in the field for the bottom half of the inning. The ball skipped off the ground before hitting Harper’s leg”
Nick Bonino and Gregory Campbell each had their legs broken by slap shots but kept killing penalties on the remaining unbroken leg.
Very different sports.
Over the years, I have watched a lot of Phillies baseball..Many of the teams were just bad with not much talent..We all endured.. The Carpenters and even to an extent Giles just wouldn’t spend..Then Dave Montgomery took over and did spend..Too bad he spent as a fan, not an executive, yet still we watched some very good baseball..
This team has what looks like good players when they can make it to the field..Clearly, saber metrics don’t work on this team or they were ignored..This team has no cohesiveness..
The team has a 3rd baseman and a first baseman that just can’t catch the ball..
We thought last years bullpen was fixed and most of us were really hyped for this season. with that fixed..19 BLOWN SAVES! Leads the majors..
Is it too early too put the blame on Dave Dombrowski? Or was he just unlucky..Bradley was supposed to be the big get and ugh, that just hasn’t happened..Hector Scare-Us proved to Gabe he couldn’t close and now Joe says he sees it too.. Alvarado is gonna kill someone with his wild pitching. I have so much more..I’ll take a breath and leave it to you guys/gals.
BTW, ever walk into some furniture and hit your shinbone? The pain is unreal..deGrom’s fastball may have hit the ground, but that just increases speed..That had to be very painful..I don’t blame Harper for leaving after the inning…Heck, he hung in there longer than any of us would..Calling him soft is unfair…..
Come on, guys! I was just having a little fun and you people from the Sensitivity Police come out with fangs and claws showing. You act like parents of a little league player who started crying on the field. No doubt, Harper has had some tough breaks this year, but he has played very few seasons in his career where he doesn’t get some type of injury that lands him on the DL/IL. He is undeniably and historically a glass ball player. He will always get crap for it. You guys, as well as Harper, need to develop a thicker skin.
@Dads hitting my shin? I guess so… Harper is still soft.
@JerryBird statistically there are far more players who get hurt more than Harper. Harper is just the type of player that garners fan reaction. People love to hate him. He gets hurt? “He’s made of glass!” they say. He makes an error “He’s a terrible fielder.” Numbers don’t matter. People make gut reactions. His stats tell us he’s an excellent player, but since he was hyped since he was 18 years old, people are always going to call him an overrated bum. It’s ridiculous. The guy was hit in the face with a fastball. He got up off the field on his own two feet. When Pillar did this for the Mets, he was correctly called a tough-as-nails-warrior. When Harper did it, people said he was made of glass. Your argument holds no water because it’s absolute pure nonsense. People hated on Harper since the Washington days. I never understood it. I never will. He’s not the best player in baseball and never will be, but he’s still solid and plays the right way. I thought that way even before he was on my team.
From 2018-2021 Bryce Harper has played in 429 games, the 14th highest total in that time frame. From his debut in 2012-2021, he’s played in 1197, good for 25th in that time frame. If that’s a, “glass ball player”, I guess it’s a league full of those.
Perhaps people are calling you out on your post because it’s not accurate and not because they’re sensitive.
You chose a favorable, but short span for your example. During his entire career, he has played in just 83% of his scheduled games. Over a normal season of 162 games, that’s an average of 27 games missed per year. I’d call that a glass player. Just sayin’…
Not sure how using the equivalent of the last full 3 seasons is, “short”, but I also included his entire career. That is “favorable, but short”? Sure, whatever you say. Much easier to just spew nonsense than reflect on your flawed original argument.
The numbers are there. I thought the ANALytical freaks would enjoy pure, undeniable stats. 3 out of 10 seasons represents only 30% of his career. That is not a fair sampling of his overall durability. Especially when you hand pick those seasons. Look, I like the guy and he really is a good player, but the bottom line is the guy simply misses a lot of games. I honestly do not understand how this can be denied. Only die hard fans choose to view him as tough while they wear their blinders. Reminds me of Mickey Mantle, Roberto Clemente, Fred Lynn, Mark McGwire, JD Drew, Troy Tulowitzki… History is replete with this kind of star player. When he plays, all is good, but that is only when he can stay on the field.
@JerryBird Did you just ignore 1984’s comment? “From his debut in 2012-2021, he’s played in 1197, good for 25th in that time frame.” So if you think 83% of his scheduled starts is bad, then your problem is with every player in the league, not Harper. Harper plays…A LOT.
1984’s comments were not valid, in my opinion. Choosing 3 favorable seasons is almost like… cheating.
Okay, okay, I get it! Playing 135 games per season is a massive undertaking. 135 f-n games is A LOT.
No, not really.
@JerryBird I even quoted the portion you should be reading. If stats aren’t valid, then I can’t help you. Keep believing non-facts.
I saw that. Because the average for that period is generally low, I guess Harper blends in well. But the statistical reference relative to my statement is his sampling size used to persuade a change in my opinion. Three “chosen” years out of ten just does not make a valid point. You and I must simply agree to disagree on Harper’s durability. He doesn’t suck, but he isn’t dependable for a full season’s run, which is what Philly needs right now. Let’s see if somewhere in the near future, if he can pick up 3 years of playing 150 games and then address this again, but it is too late for 2021. He is, after all, the player your favorite team depends on 83% of the time. I hope that’s enough to help the Phillies win.
Harper seems to be simply playing for a paycheck. Nothing more. Phillies FO would be smart if the could somehow pawn him off on some other team by agreeing to pick up, say, one third of his remaining contract.. Guys who earn at least twice as much as the remaining players on his team generate discontent simply by their presence in the dugout.
hawk, that might be the worst post I’ve read here in some time..beyond anything a intelligent baseball follower would conjure up..you need to take a time out child..
Bottom line is this if Rhys Hoskins makes two easy plays in the field, the gap in the NL East is thin. This guy is abysmal and should be out of Philly before Ben Simmons
Hoskins is a DH. Bohm can’t field either. Segura and Didi on the IL. Essentially the Phillies are playing without a MLB-ready infield, and it really shows.
ain’t that the truth..been saying that for awhile now..
Harper is another Lance Parrish
Hoskins STINKS then says the press should be more positive
2021 Season over thanks to Hoskins,Neris,Harper,Girardi 4th place losers again
SELL SELL SELL
It might be time to add to the farm system this Trade Deadline and call 2021 a lost season. Odubel, Segura, Bradley, Neris, and maybe Hoskins or McCutchen could be used to add a few helpful pieces to the Phillies’ future.
Harper and Realmuto will be screaming to get out VERY SOON watch.Don’t let the door hit the you on the way out losers.I never seen big time free agents get so many days off and quit on there team.More Harper than Realmuto.