The Phillies introduced that Bryce Harper has been positioned on the 10-day injured listing (retroactive to June 6) because of irritation in his proper wrist. Utilityman Otto Kemp had his contract chosen from Triple-A in a corresponding transfer, and no 40-man transaction was wanted for the reason that Phillies solely had 39 males on their 40-man roster. Philadelphia additionally despatched right-hander Alan Rangel all the way down to Triple-Some time calling up righty Daniel Robert to offer a recent arm for the bullpen.
Harper didn’t play within the Phils’ 5-4 loss to the Pirates Friday, and supervisor Rob Thomson advised reporters (together with Scott Lauber of the Philadelphia Inquirer) that Harper was being given a relaxation day to take care of a wrist drawback that has been bothering the primary baseman “for some time,” as Thomson put it. Lauber wrote that it isn’t identified if this present harm is much like or a continuation of the best wrist difficulty that additionally nagged at Harper throughout the 2024 season.
It’s been a tough stretch general for Harper on the well being entrance, as he was hit on the best elbow by a Spencer Strider pitch on Might 27 after which missed Philadelphia’s subsequent 5 video games. No IL stint was in the end required for that harm, although Harper had just one hit in 11 plate appearances after returning to the lineup. Between each Harper’s wrist and any lingering soreness along with his elbow, a correct IL placement looks as if a good suggestion to permit Harper to get absolutely rested and healed up.
Harper is hitting .258/.368/.446 with 9 residence runs over 253 PA this season — good for a powerful 129 wRC+ however down from Harper’s standard famous person ranges of manufacturing. Whereas there’s by no means time to get drilled on the elbow by a Main League pitch, Harper’s painful encounter with Strider got here at a very inopportune second, as Harper had a .936 OPS within the 20 video games previous to Might 27.
With Harper both unavailable or not hitting a lot, the Phillies have hit a hunch within the final week, dropping seven of their final eight video games. Alec Bohm moved over to play first base in Harper’s earlier absence and Edmundo Sosa performed third base, so that may doubtless be essentially the most normal alignment for the Phils whereas Harper is on the IL. Weston Wilson might additionally issue into the infield image if utilityman Sosa is spending extra time in an on a regular basis position, and Kemp has seen plenty of time at first, second and third base (plus a handful of video games at shortstop and within the nook outfield) throughout his 4 minor league seasons.
Kemp can be making his Main League debut every time he first seems in a recreation for the Phillies, which marks fairly a journey for a participant who went undrafted in 2022. Philadelphia signed Kemp as a free agent following the draft and he has solely gotten higher as he has risen by the minor league ranks, together with some sensational numbers at Triple-A Lehigh Valley this yr. The 25-year-old Kemp is hitting .317/.417/.602 with over 264 Triple-A plate appearances, and he leads the Worldwide League with 14 residence runs.
This type of manufacturing is greater than worthy of a have a look at the MLB degree, and Kemp figures to even be a part of the third base image whereas Harper is out. Like Bohm, Sosa, and Wilson, Kemp can also be a right-handed hitter, so it doesn’t make for a clean platoon scenario. Since Kemp has performed some left subject in Lehigh Valley, nonetheless, he would possibly get a while in left subject instead of the left-handed hitting Max Kepler if a southpaw is on the mound.
