Philadelphia Phillies Still Not Playing Bryce Harper at First Base

After speculation that he could play first base this past weekend, Philadelphia Phillies star Bryce Harper is still going to be the designated hitter on Tuesday.

Brady Farkas | Jul 18, 2023

Philadelphia Phillies Still Not Playing Bryce Harper at First Base /

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Philadelphia Phillies

After speculation that he could play first base as recently as this past weekend, the Philadelphia Phillies are still not putting superstar Bryce Harper at first base.

The following update comes from the Rotowire fantasy baseball portal:

Harper will again serve as the Phillies' designated hitter Tuesday against the Brewers.

ANALYSIS
Harper's debut at first base has appeared imminent for a couple of weeks now, but the Phillies will hold off on that idea a little while longer. The 30-year-old has slashed .300/.395/.426 with four homers and six steals in 60 games this year, all out of the DH spot.

Harper had Tommy John surgery this past offseason and playing first base was an idea that was meant to help him ease into throwing and playing defense, but he's played nothing but DH since being activated in May.

Keeping Harper healthy is the most important thing for Philadelphia, as they need his bat in the lineup, but playing first base would allow flexibility when it comes to defensive alignments and would allow Kyle Schwarber to play designated hitter.

Offensively, the seven-time All-Star is hitting .300 this year with four home runs and 26 RBI. He's also stolen six bases and has posted a .395 on-base percentage.

For his career, he's a two-time MVP award winner with a lifetime .281 batting average. He's hit 289 career home runs over a 12-year career with the Nationals and Phillies.

Philadelphia is currently 51-42 and 0.5 games back in the National League wild card race.

They'll play the Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday night.

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Published Jul 18, 2023

BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady.