Phillies to activate Bryce Harper from 60-day injured list Friday
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- It turns out, Bryce Harper didn't need five games at Triple A Lehigh Valley after all. The Phillies will activate Harper from the 60-day injured list on Friday, interim manager Rob Thomson told reporters Thursday.
"I talked to him last night and said he felt great. Said he feels like his timing's down, he feels really comfortable in the box," Thomson said. "Body was sore, just in general. He said it was like being the fifth day of Spring Training, which is understandable. He's been out a couple of months. So I said, 'Are you ready to go?' and he said, 'Yeah.'"
Harper began his rehab assignment for a broken left thumb with the IronPigs Tuesday. The initial plan was for him to play five games with Lehigh Valley as the team's DH with Monday as the target return date.
The 29-year-old has been out since June 25 when he broke his left thumb after being hit by a 97 mph pitch by San Diego Padres starting pitcher Blake Snell.
The two-time National League MVP turned that plan upside down almost immediately.
In the first at-bat of his rehab assignment, Harper took Atlanta Braves pitching prospect Jared Shuster deep to right field for a mammoth home run on a 2-2 hanging breaking ball.
He added a second homer later in the game and finished 2 for 3 with two walks, two homers, four RBI, three runs and he was even caught trying to steal third base.
Then in his second game, Harper again looked comfortable with a 3 for 5 performance that included a walk-off two-run double and another double.
Harper needed just 10 plate appearances and eight at-bats before deciding he was ready.
The Phillies went 31-20 in 41 games without Harper.
At 69-55, the Phillies currently hold the NL's second wild card spot, owning a two-game lead over the Padres.
With the new third wild card spot, the Phillies have a 3½ lead which is actually a 4½ game lead because of a tiebreaker over the Milwaukee Brewers from slipping out of the playoff picture.
Harper's return to the lineup should inject new life into a team that's vying to end the second longest postseason drought in baseball.
Philadelphia closes out a four-game series with the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday night at Citizens Bank Park.
Harper is related to full-time DH duty after he suffered a small tear in his UCL in his throwing elbow on April 16. He's hitting .318 with a .985 OPS, 15 homers and 48 RBI in 64 games this season.
He's expected to be in the lineup Friday when the Phillies open up a three-game series with the Pittsburgh Pirates.
In other injury news, Thomson said center fielder Brandon Marsh will begin a rehab assignment Thursday night in Lehigh Valley. Marsh will play the outfield on Friday and could possibly return to the Phillies on Saturday, Thomson said.
Marsh was placed on the 10-day IL on Aug. 18, retroactively to Aug. 17, with a sprained left ankle and knee injury.
