Bryce Harper injury update: Phillies remain cautious

It’s not totally clear when Bryce Harper will be fully healthy, but the Philadelphia Phillies seem to be keeping an eye on him and are remaining cautious.

As Bryce Harper continues to recover from an elbow injury, it appears as if the Philadelphia Phillies are keeping an eye on him and remaining cautious in their approach to getting him back up to speed and out on the field.

According to a tweet from Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia, it looks like the Phillies would like to have Harper playing, but it seems like they’re still trying to take everything at a reasonable pace so that their star can still take care of himself and patiently recover.

According to Salisbury’s tweet, Harper’s timeline for being able to play out in the field has been adjusted a bit by doctors. Harper won’t be throwing for six weeks, according to Salisbury. As noted in Salisbury’s tweet, it’s possible that Harper won’t be back out in the field until July or August.

Philadelphia Phillies will be cautious with Bryce Harper as he continues to recover from an injury

That’s a considerable amount of time.

That said, from the outside looking in at this situation and without having a ton of detailed medical knowledge, this seems like the right sort of approach for the Phillies to take. Giving the 29-year-old Harper a chance to get healthier before asking him to throw seems like the right course of action.

If he’s able to hit (without causing any further damage and is comfortable doing so), then continuing to get Harper opportunities at the plate as a designated hitter could at least help the Phillies a bit.

The situation is far from ideal. There’s very little good news to be had here, but at least the Phillies have the hope of having Harper as a DH. Maybe that’ll help them win a bit.