The Philadelphia Phillies are 0-5 in the last five games Bryce Harper has had to miss, and they will now be without their star first baseman for at least another eight games as Harper was placed on the injured list Saturday morning with inflammation in his right wrist.
Harper cannot return until June 16 at the earliest. The injury is not related to Harper’s bruised right elbow suffered when Atlanta’s Spencer Strider hit him with a 95 mph fastball, Phillies manager Rob Thomson told reporters in Pittsburgh.
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However, Harper played through wrist soreness late last season, making it troublesome to see a recurrence now.
The Phillies summoned Otto Kemp, a 25-year-old undrafted infielder, from Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Kemp, who crushed minor-league pitching but is considered a below-average defender without a set position, could see time at first base. He has played primarily at third base in the minors this season, although Alec Bohm is considered a much better defender there than Kemp.
Kemp hit .313/.416/.594 in 269 plate appearances at Lehigh Valley this season, albeit with a 25 percent strikeout rate. He went 2-for-13 with a double, a homer, four walks and four strikeouts this week while Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski observed Lehigh Valley on a road trip to Charlotte.
The last undrafted hitter signed by the Phillies as an amateur free agent to reach the majors with them was infielder Jeff Grotewold, who had 75 plate appearances in 1992. (This does not count foreign players, who are not eligible to be drafted and are signed as amateur free agents.) Other undrafted amateurs have played in the majors with the Phillies — Chris Coste, originally signed by Pittsburgh, is one. Daniel Nava, Rod Barajas and Ramón Martínez — all signed by other organizations — are the only other draft-eligible but undrafted Phillies hitters in the last 30 years.
Harper homered earlier this week in his first at-bat back in the Phillies’ lineup, then went hitless in his next 10 at-bats with five strikeouts. He did not play Friday night, which was when the team first disclosed Harper was dealing with a wrist ailment.
Harper is hitting .258/.368/.446 this season.
(Photo: Mark Blinch / Getty Images)
