The Philadelphia Phillies seized the top spot in the National League East after taking their series with the New York Mets on Sunday.
And in a particularly encouraging sign, the team has won 10 of their last 15 games since franchise slugger Bryce Harper was placed on the injured list after a setback on a wrist problem that plagued him last year. Despite its success without him, though, the team is eager to get Harper back into the lineup.
Unfortunately, it isn’t clear exactly when Harper will be able to return.
“Bryce Harper is making progress, but he and the Phillies still don’t have many answers — neither about when he will return nor what caused his right wrist to flare up again this season,” per Paul Casella of MLB.com “It’s essentially going to be a pain management issue, but there’s no way to know when the discomfort will subside enough to allow Harper to consistently swing the bat every day.”
Amid the team’s win against the Mets on Sunday, though, Harper offered an encouraging estimation of when he might return.
“Bryce Harper says on the ESPN broadcast he took 45 swings today and 45 swings yesterday,” NBC’s John Clark reported. “He says it would be great if he could come back in the next 10 days but he says it’s early in the process.”
Follow The Sporting News On WhatsApp
That 10-day projection would be good news for the Phillies as it would get Harper back into the batting order before the All-Star break. But it might just be some optimistic thinking from the slugger.
Ultimately, the Phillies will be careful with Harper’s return. And it looks like he’ll be managing the injury whenever he does get back to the batting order.
More MLB: Yankees ask Paul Goldschmidt to do something he’s never done in 15-year career