Bryce Harper out indefinitely with a fractured thumb

There are some things that the Phillies could afford to have happen injury wise. When Jean Segura went down with a broken hand, they were lucky enough that Didi Gregorius was coming off of the injured list, meaning Bryson Stott could slide over and Nick Maton, prior to his own injury, could fill in as well.

When Corey Knebel missed a few games in the bullpen, they were able to call up Francisco Morales to pitch in a few games and show solid stuff (don’t ask what’s happened since).

Bryce Harper took a fastball to his thumb last night.

Subsequent x-rays showed a fracture, meaning he is out indefinitely. Optimistic timelines might say something like 4-6 weeks, but we all know that is probably not the case. Most of us are preparing for the worst.

It is hard to state how much this is going to hurt this team. When Harper missed even a few games with a blister, the offense struggled. Being built around his constant presence in the lineup, it doesn’t function quite as well when he is absent from it. With so many people who were supposed to produce not doing so this season (Nick Castellanos, J.T. Realmuto, Alec Bohm), Harper’s elite level production helped keep the team going.

Now it’s gone.

We’ll have more on this as it develops, but needless to say, things are bleak right now.