Rejoice Phillies fans: Bryce Harper will begin a rehab assignment on Tuesday night with Triple-A Lehigh Valley. The plan, according to interim Phillies manager Rob Thomson, is to play every day from Tuesday to Saturday with an off day Sunday. It’s possible the rehab could end that Sunday and Harper returns to the Phillies lineup next Monday against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Harper ran and took batting practice on the field Monday with hitting coach Kevin Long:
Harper has not played since June 25 after fracturing his left thumb on a hit-by-pitch against Padres pitcher Blake Snell.
“I feel a lot better,” Harper said on Sunday. “The more I hit, the more I kind of use it, it’s getting better. We’re happy with where we are right now.”
Clean MRI for Seranthony
Results on Seranthony DomÃnguez’s MRI revealed no structural damage. He was placed on the 15-day injured list prior to Sunday’s game with right triceps tendinitis. Thomson said DomÃnguez won’t throw for five days.
If there are no setbacks, it’s possible that DomÃnguez could be activated when his injured list stint is up on Sept. 2.
The Phillies bullpen is short on arms for Monday’s game in light of both DomÃnguez’s IL placement and Corey Knebel’s season-ending injury. David Robertson is definitely unavailable. José Alvarado, Connor Brogdon and Brad Hand would all be working on their third day in a row if they pitched on Monday.
Left hander Michael Plassmeyer was added to the roster. Tyler Cyr, who allowed a run over a third of an inning in Sunday’s game, was designated for assignment. Plassmeyer has primarily worked as a starter in Triple A, so he should be available to give the Phillies length if needed.
Phillies Notes
- The best case scenario for Kyle Schwarber is a return to the outfield on Tuesday. He did change-of-direction drills in the outfield on Monday.
- Brandon Marsh (left ankle sprain) did some light running in the outfield. He has not begun hitting. He hasn’t played since Aug. 16 after hurting both his knee and ankle while attempting to rob a home run ball at Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati.
- Zach Eflin (patellofemoral pain) played catch on Monday. There’s no timetable for him to begin throwing off the mound.
- Thomson said he was a little concerned about Brogdon’s velocity being down a tick in his first back-to-back outing since June. His average fastball velocity was down a mile per hour from Saturday to Sunday. The Phillies interim manager, however, will not shy away from using him on consecutive days. He may not have a choice at this point. “I’m not afraid of going back-to-back with him,” Thomson said. “But it just depends on the first night, how many pitches he throws. We were kind of backed into a corner yesterday.”
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