This story was excerpted from Todd Zolecki’s Phillies Beat newsletter. MLB.com's Paul Casella wrote this edition. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
PHILADELPHIA -- By now, we all know Bryce Harper will play right field for the Phillies for the rest of the season.
Simple, right? Well, kind of.
That is indeed the Phillies’ plan -- except on days when he doesn’t … or when he’s subbed out for defense late in games … or when he shifts back to the infield midgame.
And that’s where things get a bit more complicated. How exactly the Phillies handle Harper’s transition to the outfield will vary on a case-by-case basis.
So how will interim manager Don Mattingly decide whether to remove Harper, shift him to first base or leave him in? And will he really play right field every day right off the bat or could he get some days at DH? And, if so, what’s the plan for Kyle Schwarber?
Let’s dive into all of it:
Will the Phillies really take out Harper for defense?
Yes.
They already proved that on Tuesday night when Mattingly removed Harper for the ninth inning in their eventual 5-0 victory over the Nationals. Though Harper would have been due up third in the bottom of the ninth had the Nats rallied, Mattingly felt confident enough in the club’s ability to protect a five-run lead that he sent Derek Hill to right field in Harper’s place.
"With Harp kind of building up, any chance we get in a game where we don't think he's coming back up -- if he does in that case, we don't deserve to win,” Mattingly said after that game. “But any chance in these first few weeks to get him off his feet, we'll get him out.”
It may not seem like much, but even just an inning of rest here or there is important -- especially for a guy who has started every game this season.
“Obviously we’ve got guys on the bench that can play out there and are really good out there,” Harper said. “Having a guy like D. Hill -- he’s a weapon out there. So any time we can get him in the game and get me off my feet, I’m OK with that.”
Why not just move Harper to first base and remove someone else?
They’ll do that, too.
If the Phillies are looking to protect a smaller lead, they could very well move Harper to first base in the later innings and bring one of their better defensive outfielders off the bench. That’s especially true if Harper’s spot in the order might come back around if the opponent rallies to tie the game or take the lead.
“I think in the course of trying to win a game, you make moves and you end up with a different alignment,” Mattingly said. "I think all our guys are willing to do what we've got to do in the course of a game.”
In those instances, Harper could slide back to first base late in the game and either replace Alec Bohm or send Bohm across the infield to third base. Part of that will depend on who else is in the game at that point and whether the team has already moved anyone else around for either a pinch-hitter or a pinch-runner.
Could Harper get more days as the DH?
Though Mattingly was initially unsure about this one in the immediate aftermath of the Luis Arraez trade -- “I don't know about that … Schwarber, we want to make sure he stays healthy,” Mattingly said on Monday -- it now seems like Harper will get a few more DH days in the coming weeks.
“I think we’ve got to be willing to get Schwarb out there,” Mattingly said on Tuesday, “and be able to play some first [base] on days we want to be able to get Harp off his feet from the standpoint of not out of the lineup, but off his feet from right field.”
Schwarber has played just 27 innings in the field this season -- 10 at first base and 17 in left field. He’s also struggled at the plate over the past month, particularly in the power department, but the Phillies insist he’s fully healthy.
Does Harper have any restrictions in the outfield?
The Phillies have talked plenty about building Harper up cautiously, but what exactly does that mean? This isn’t Spring Training, when they can fully control his reps, nor can they afford to lose Harper in the midst of a tight NL Wild Card race.
Plus, Harper is the type of player who’s always going to play full speed and put his body on the line, especially in a big moment or if the game is on the line.
The Phillies are carefully monitoring how they stretch his arm back out after four-plus years of throwing only across the infield, but they aren’t holding him back.
"We're not going to tell him how to play. He's healthy, so he can throw. There's no reason for him not to make throws,” Mattingly said. “ … It's just a different throw, but there's no restrictions on how he plays. It's not like, 'OK, you're not allowed to dive, you're not allowed to go by the wall, you're not allowed to try to throw a guy out at third' -- none of that is going on."
Added president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski: “He doesn't want to get hurt, of course. So he does play hard, but I also think that he'll be wise about it.”