Philadelphia Phillies star Bryce Harper will have surgery on his broken left thumb and is targeting a mid-August return to the lineup, Scott Lauber of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.
The reigning National League MVP broke his thumb after being hit by a 97 mph pitch by Padres left-hander Blake Snell on Saturday. Harper fell to the ground and was attended to by a trainer while in clear pain for a number of minutes.
He was able to eventually get up and yelled angrily at Snell as he walked off the field. The Phillies announced his thumb had been broken after the game but further tests were needed to determine if he needed surgery. Now we know that he will.
“He is a guy who really isn’t replaceable on an individual basis, but we are going to have to be in a position that other people are going to have to step up,” Phillies general manager Dave Dombrowski said.
Harper was already playing through an elbow tear that has left him only able to DH this season. Despite that, he is hitting .318/.385/.599 with 15 home runs and 48 RBIs.
The Phillies enter play Tuesday with a 39-35 record, putting them third in the NL East and two games out of the final wild-card position.
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