This is a MAJOR CONCERN for the Phillies...

it has been obvious for quite some time now that Bryce Harper has not quite looked like himself this season well we finally have some news on what specifically the Philly Superstar is dealing with and why I'm a little bit concerned for how long this could be lingering I want to break down exactly what Bryce Harbor had to say about the injuries that he's dealing with what this means for the Phillies moving forward if there is any hope for these to clear up soon but before I dive fully into the story of the day do want remind you guys to make sure you continue to smash that subscribe button that at this point in time 84.2% of you guys tune in the video have not subscribed just yet we're closing in on that 1,000 Mark right here on Philly digest and about a month away from the playoffs overall so want each and every one of you guys a part of this Phillies digest Journey along with me so make sure you're smashing that sub subscribe button supporting the channel there and sticking along for us every step of the ride now to get into the somber tune of today's video do want to discuss specifically what is going on with Bryce Harper and Shout Out specifically to Todd zi here who did an awesome job breaking this article down going to go pretty in depth on what he wrote here and his headlines states that Harper quote grinding through elbow SL wrist inflammation hopefully it won't be an issue in October I think for anybody that has tuned in on the Phillies in the regular basis it's been pretty clear that Bryce Harper has not looked like Bryce Harper that this guy that is the face the centerpiece the most talented player on this roster simply has not been that for most of this season now to dive into specifically the conversation that Todd had and and a couple other members of the media here do want to start by pulling up the beginning of the article here in which he states that Bryce harpett said repeated L on Friday that he will not make excuses but he is banged up he reluctantly acknowledged that that much before Friday night's game against the Braves at Citizens Bank Park attendant Phillies fans have noticed Harper wearing a protective black sleeve on his right arm since Monday's game against Houston they also might have noticed that Harper has not homered in 73 consecutive plate appearances dating back to August 9th and I'll add that number has now increased to 77 after Friday's night's game which I'm recording at this point is it a sore wrist a sore elbow quote all of it Harper told mlb.com the elbow the wrist is not anything crazy but obviously it's there he said that his wrist has bothered him since May the elbow is more recent Harper said that he doesn't recall a specific play or moment that irritated the rist only that it quote just generally got worse I've been grinding through it through that but with the postseason a little more than a month away he said he is hopeful it will not be an issue in October and to be perfectly honest I think it's worse that there's not a specific play when you think back to the track record of Bryce Harvard at this point this dude who's already got Tommy John within the past three seasons this guy who was unable to play the field for an for an entire season where he was forced to that DH row which really shook things up and forced Kyle schwarber to play Left Field we got Nick casianis right kind of L us down this path where the Phillies really leaned into guys fully just smashing home runs and how this this era of Phillies baseball got constructed Bryce Harbor was a key part of that and really got forced into the DH role in a way that was not meant to be and it felt like shifting him to first base was going to save him to an extent but we're not quite seeing the effects of that now I don't want to leave everything out here so the article continues on to write that quote I don't want to make excuses for what I do Harper said you know what I'm saying I've just got to get through it hopefully it gets better rather than getting worse the RIS finally getting to the point where I feel like it's turning a corner my elbow is just like there Harper had Tommy John following the 2022 World Series he said this isn't that it's not the ligament he said it's in that area but it's not the ligament and that's the good thing but it's safe to say that the wrist and elbow have affected Harper's power he is batting 345 with four doubles three RBI and a 924 OBS in his last eight games which is encouraging but he's batting 230 with five home runs and 15 RBI with a 691 OBS Ops since the All-Star break he batted 301 with 21 homers 61 RBIs and a 982 OBS before the break quote I don't want to make excuses for the way that I'm playing Harper said about his lack of power I just want to make sure that if I can play then I'm good if it continues to go the right way then yeah we're good on both ends sometimes youve got to play through crap you know all good so I do like and this is one of the things that I think Bryce Harper has really grown fondly in the eyes of Phillies fans is he is a grinder he is a worker he's a guy that wants to stick it through play through pain and have that quote unquote dog mentality that is why we like him here in Philadelphia and he does wear his heart and his sleeve on a daily basis that we see him the way that he is capable of you know stretching out an extra base or Sliding Away that he probably shouldn't that is the Bryce har that we know and love now if I want to call spade a spade here we haven't fully got that Bryce Harbor for a great a good portion of this season whether it is little moments like not spreading out uh a ball down the line in first base whether it is dogging it a little bit around the base path I'm not criticizing the dude because he is a guy that I think has a little bit of that Sweat Equity in my mind that I trust him as a baseball player but the reality is the version that we've got from Bryce haror from pretty much start to finish this year is not a guy that is leading this team on the pathway of the World Series and is not the dude that has been this heroic superstar in the biggest stage in the biggest moments in past years now to get into the specifics of what I mean by that to add a couple stats that quote whereas Harper entered July having launched 20 home runs on the air he sent Homer just six times July served as the single worst full month of Harper's career as judged by Ops while he's rebounding to an extent in August he's posted a 233 311 and 411 slash line over his last 42 games the Phillies are 20 and 22 in those contents to add more specifics to that to take a look at his past 50 plate appearances over this time he's had four doubles six singles he struck out uh 12 times and he's popped out the rest of them he's sitting hitting just 200 over the stretch of time just three RBIs and Ops of 652 I will say I think the at bats have looked better that he did lace two doubles tonight laced one down the line that was a really goodlooking swing it doesn't feel like anything that there's super mechanically wrong with him what it is is there isn't the power behind it and that's directly related to these injuries here now while that's all good and dandy that I'm glad that he's putting this out front and saying this the reality is what is the fix here that we need this guy to be at his best if this Phillies team is going to go on another Deep Run that these stats on the season 26 home runs 76 RB 65 walks and 450 at bats he's got 125 overall hits during that time these are good numbers for your average NBA for your average MLB player these are not the numbers that you're hoping for when you're talking about Bryce Harper and to directly compare him to a guy on this team a guy like Nick casianos who has been kind of the steady consistent version that this Phillies team needs 19 home runs 73 RBIs and I get once again both those stats being a little bit less than what we've got from Harper he has been the guy that has stepped up in his biggest moments of lately so shout out to casianos for picking up a little bit of the slack but the bottom line is this Philly team is built to play around Bryce Harper that he is the face he is the centerpiece he is the talented guy that everything is supposed to work with and he's the guy that you should wanted to play at the biggest moments I know it's kind of unfair to hold him to this standard that injuries are injuries he's still fighting through it and we have to respect that but this doesn't feel like something to me that is going to just get better while I appreciate him acknowledging it is not the ligament that still doesn't change the fact that he does not look capable of driving a ball out of the ballpark at this point in time and there's even been a couple swings that it looks like he gets a hold of and they just kind of die out there that's a huge deal for this Phillies team and for Bryce haror specifically I'm going to take his word for it and be a little optimistic on the way out maybe this is something that continue to work work through will get better that he says the wrist is turning a corner he feels like he's in a better spot we still have a little bit over a month until that playoff push maybe when we get there he's feeling better but if this is the version of Bryce Harper that the Phillies have entering the playoffs I really don't love how things are trending for this team so let me know if you're as as panicked as I am with Bryce Harper I do think this is a concern both in the short and long term because as I mentioned with all the power numbers and how this team is constructed they need him and in the long term this is now multiple ligament elbow and shoulder issues that he's dealt with it's just not a great sign for a guy that as much as we love him as much as we know what he brings to his team he's aging he's past his prime he's about to turn 32 years old and he there were already talks this off season about him wanting another contract extension I do hope ultimately that he ends up F that this is a little blip in the radar then he can continue on the pathway that we expect with this Phillies team but this is not the type of news that I want jumping up on my timeline regarding the Phillies at this point so let me know what you guys think in the comments below once again make sure you're smashing that subscribe button we're getting close to the 1,000 Mark and want as many people apart of the Phillies digest family as possible so smash that subscribe button drop a like on this video any comments you have below and I'll be talk with you next time right here on Phillies digest peace