The hard slide to second base on July 11 turned out to be a costly attempt for a double. The impact with the ground immediately triggered pain in Bryce Harper’s left knee. And after the Philadelphia Phillies veteran gave up his infield position, he had to cover more ground in right field. The discomfort resurfaced, and he was limited to DH duties.
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But that was a week ago, and Harper has now played six straight games as an outfielder. And reporters were curious if he was pushing himself through the soreness. But the interim manager thought he was in a good spot.
“I thought the read yesterday was good,” Don Mattingly said to the reporters, as per SportsRadio 94WIP reporter Dave Uram. “He had a drop step read. The day before was a little funky, but I think all that stuff’s coming more and more naturally.”
The Phillies acquired Luis Arraez at the trade deadline. And Harper moved to right field to make room for him in the infield. The 2x NL MVP wasn’t new to the outfield. In fact, he had spent several years at the beginning of his career in that position. But he probably didn’t account for the knee pain he developed from the Houston Astros game earlier. But being in right field increased his running. And that wasn’t the best thing for his knee.
Harper didn’t feel like it was a great deal.
“I was good,” he said last week. “[It’s] just soreness, nothing over the top.”
However, during his at-bat against the St. Louis Cardinals, he seemed to take a moment after a swing. Many assumed that he was trying to play through the discomfort. But the 33-year-old had a much simpler explanation.
He said, “[I] took two really bad swings, so needed to keep my composure a little bit.”
But Mattingly wasn’t just going to take his words for it. The manager said that they will be going to the medical every day and then make an informed decision about Harper. And it looks like the results were satisfactory enough for the team to allow the veteran to continue in right field. Bryce Harper believed that getting more reps in the field would help his body get accustomed to the outfield workload again.
Luckily, his overall fitness and his willingness to continue were convincing enough for the team to let him play as RF. And Don Mattingly said they are comfortable putting him in the outfield every day. Their goal is to maintain the status quo as much as possible.
The Phillies are currently on a 4-game streak. Their current performance and position, coupled with the fitness of one of their biggest stars, offered plenty of positivity for the manager. He said, “It’s kind of been fine.”