Bryce Harper’s timeline to return from Tommy John Surgery, plus potential options for the Phillies at DH
Last Wednesday, news broke that Bryce Harper underwent Tommy John Surgery to repair the torn UCL in his right elbow.
Jon Morosi – Bryce Harper Surgery Update
Originally tweeted by MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) on November 28, 2022.
According to the Phillies, they expect Harper to return to his designated hitter roll by the All-Star break, with the chance of playing right field again before the end of the 2023 season.
According to Todd Zolecki of MLB.com, there’s a good chance that Harper could start swinging the bat again in as little as four months. That would put him on track to swing competitively in May, marking the start of his rehab and personal version of Spring Training.Â
Of course, when you’re looking for other examples in regards to Harper’s timeline for recovery, the best player to evaluate would be Shohei Ohtani. The Angels star outfielder and pitcher had surgery on October 1, 2018 and was back in the lineup as a DH for the Angels on May 7, 2019.
Also worth noting, as Zolecki mentioned, is that Ohtani had 50 plate appearances before being activated by the Angels, which added up to 26 days hitting off a pitching machine.
The Phillies will look to avoid another slow start when the 2023 begins and now they have another hole to fill at the DH spot. Last year, Harper was their main DH, even when he was out injured, the Phillies managed to go 32-20 (.615).
Five players DH’d in the 52 games Bryce Harper missed:
- Darick Hall, 30 times
- Schwarber, nine times
- Castellanos, five times
- Rhys Hoskins, four times
- Alec Bohm, four times
If you’re looking at players currently on our team, the logical option would be Darick Hall. The biggest problem with Hall is the fact that he literally can’t hit left handed pitching, which makes him a part time DH at best. Still, when he was with the Phillies, Hall made the best of his opportunity, batting .264 with nine home runs, 16 RBIs and an .847 OPS in 135 plate appearances.
Read More: Ranking Top Free Agent Shortstops >>
The decision at DH could get A LOT easier if and when the Phillies pull a trigger on an elite shortstop. Trea Turner can play the outfield if needed and then you have Nick Maton who spent time in the outfield as well last season. You can use both of those players at shortstop and on the corners of the outfield and option Schwarber or Castellanos to the DH role.
Read More: The Ideal Offseason for the Philadelphia Phillies >>
The Phillies have been relatively quiet on the free agent market in the early goings of the offseason but Dave Dombrowski will eventually make a splash.
Ideally, that will be Trea Turner and then we can focus on how to rework the lineup until Harper is able to get back from injury.
