The Philadelphia Phillies have lost seven of their last eight games, to relinquish first place in the National League East and fall 2 1/2 games behind the New York Mets. But on Saturday, the Phillies’ misfortune took an ever darker turn.
Philadelphia announced that superstar Bryce Harper, in the seventh season of his 13-year, $330 million contract with the club, was placed on the 10-day injured list with “right wrist inflammation.”
Harper missed Friday’s game against the Pittsburgh Pirates with what the club described as “soreness” in the wrist, but on Saturday the inflammation had not subsided and an IL stint was deemed necessary.
The 10-day stay on the IL was made retroactive to June 6, meaning that Harper is eligible to return on June 16 for the start of a three game set against the Miami Marlins.
Whether Harper will be ready to come back by that date remained unclear as of Saturday morning, according to a CBS News report.
The IL announcement comes 10 days after Harper was hit on the right elbow with a pitch brown by Atlanta Braves starter Spencer Strider.
Harper ended up missing five games due to that injury.
Whether the new wrist injury is also related to the hit-by-pitch is unclear. Phillies manager Rob Thomsen said on Saturday that Harper has been coping with soreness in the wrist for “a while,” as quoted by an MLB.com report.
To take Harper’s place on the 26-man roster, the Phillies called up their No. 24-ranked prospect, third baseman Otto Kemp, from the Triple-A Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs, where the 25-year-old had blasted 14 home runs and posted an impressive 1.010 OPS in 55 games. Kemp has also swiped 11 bases.
Kemp’s home run total leads the International League, while his OPS places him second, according to the MLB.com report.
THIS IS A DEVELOPING STORY. FURTHER DETAILS TO FOLLOW.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Phillies Make Unfortunate Announcement on $330 Million Superstar appeared first on Heavy Sports.