The Philadelphia Phillies are set to get their best hitter back way sooner than expected. Bryce Harper is set to be activated Tuesday after his surgically repaired elbow was cleared by Dr. Neal ElAttrache on Monday, CBS Sports' Jim Bowden confirmed.
The expectation is that Harper will be in the Phillies' lineup Tuesday night against the Dodgers and will serve as the designated hitter.
Monday, Harper seemed to announce that he's back on Instagram, including the caption, "Aye Pham. You ready?"
Dr. ElAttrache performed Harper's Tommy John surgery on Nov. 23 and the typical rehab timetable for position players is 9-12 months. This initially put Harper on track to return sometime around the All-Star break. Instead, Harper's Tuesday return would mean he's back in less than six months, an unheard of recovery from such a major procedure. His rehab work has gone exceptionally well and he kept meeting the necessary benchmarks.
"Amazing. He's absolutely amazing," Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski told The Athletic about Harper's recovery. "He's a great athlete. He works hard. He's focused. He wants to get back. I mean, it's amazing what he's accomplished. We have that next step (with Dr. ElAttrache clearing him), but the progress he's made is phenomenal."
The Phillies are bringing Harper back as a hitter only, allowing such a quick return. The elbow injury prevented him from playing the field after April 16 last season. Harper is unable to throw but he can hit, similar to Shohei Ohtani returning from his Tommy John surgery as a DH only in 2019. Ohtani resumed pitching in 2020. Harper -- who has been working out at first base -- may perhaps be able to play the field later this year.
Harper has been hitting against high velocity and breaking balls off a pitching machine in the batting cage this month, though activating him Tuesday means he will not play in any minor-league rehab games. The Phillies begin their series with the Dodgers on Monday but will not activate Harper for that game.
Philadelphia has primarily used Kyle Schwarber at DH during Harper's absence and they've received good production from the position (.261/.339/.487), though obviously Harper is a difference-making bat who makes any lineup better. The Phillies enter play Monday averaging 4.34 runs per game, which places them 18th among the 30 teams.
Harper, 30, hit .286/.364/.514 with 18 home runs in 99 games around the elbow injury and a broken thumb last season. He authored a .349/.414/.746 line with six homers in 17 postseason games as well.
The Phillies enter Monday night's series opener against the Dodgers with a 15-14 record, which is two games better than they were at this point last season -- when they ended up winning the NL pennant.
