Bryce Harper took ground balls at first base before today’s game
Bryce Harper seems to be coming back earlier than expected. The Phillies are in need of an everyday first baseman right now…would the team consider playing Bryce Harper at first?
It sounds crazy, and it seems like a move that they wouldn’t do. But Bryce Harper was taking pregame reps at first base today after hitting outdoor batting practice once again.
Bryce Harper at First Base?
The Phillies have had no choice but to get creative since Darick Hall went down with a finger injury. Alec Bohm has shifted over on a pretty consistent every-other-day basis, while Kody Clemens has seen some time against lefties since being called up to the majors.
Rob Thomson loves Alec Bohm at third base, just like all of us. The Phillies’ long-term goal is to keep Bohm at first base, but since the injuries to Rhys and Hall, they’ve had no choice but to shift Bohm across the diamond.
Bryce Harper has played a total of 0.1 innings at first base throughout his 12-year career, so it seems that the Phillies wouldn’t love this plan. They’d also have some work to do with the DH spot, the position that Harper resided at all last season since the new rules were put in place.
The Phils could look at an every-other-day system with Bohm and Sosa at third, with the other in the DH spot. Bryce Harper at first doesn’t seem to be the ideal plan, but the Phillies obviously aren’t completely ruling it out after Harper took ground balls there today.
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