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Well this isn’t exactly the greatest news in the world!
Girardi said the Phillies had another test done on Harper last week that showed a small tear in his UCL. They had him visit Dr. ElAttrache this morning, who confirmed that it is a small tear. He’ll be a no throw for four weeks; they hope he’ll start a throwing program after that
— Alex Coffey (@byalexcoffey) May 12, 2022
Alex goes on to report that Harper will have a PRP injection on Sunday, which might put him out for that game and the following Tuesday.
This clearly isn’t the news the team was hoping to hear, but it also isn’t the end of the world. The first reason is the clearest one: he’s not hurting while batting, so he can still continue to help the team by being the designated hitter. He’s performed well there, though he’s also preventing Joe Girardi from giving other players a day off their feet while keeping their bat in the lineup. I’m sure, though, that the team would be fine with this arrangement so long as Harper is still keeping his bat in the lineup.
The other reason this isn’t horrible news is the wording used. It’s a “small tear”, which isn’t a full tear. That means that the PRP injection could help with the injury. Several players have had the same injury and avoided surgery, something Harper is also hoping to do. The best example would be Masahiro Tanaka from the Yankees, who never needed Tommy John surgery after tearing his UCL. It can be avoided, but there is no doubt they’ll need some luck involved.
Keep an eye of Alex’s reporting as there may be more details to come.
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