In 2024, Phillies should have Bryce Harper for most games since 2019

It’s funny, Bryce Harper‘s first five seasons with the Philadelphia Phillies are viewed as a resounding success, despite the fact that he’s played in 140 or more games just two times across that half decade.

Of course, the 2020 season was shortened to 60 games because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and Harper, despite dealing with a back injury, played in 58 contests during that bizarre season. But he was limited to 99 games in 2022, in large part because he fractured his left thumb when San Diego Padres pitcher Blake Snell hit him with a pitch in late June. Harper’s recovery from Tommy John surgery went extremely well, but he still only appeared in 126 regular season games in 2023 after missing the entire first month of the campaign.

Heck, even when Harper won NL MVP in 2021, he still spent time on the injured list early in the summer as he dealt with a left forearm contusion. Harper appeared in 141 games in 2021, overcoming missing 21 games by posting a 1.044 OPS to win the senior circuit’s top honor for the second time.

All of that is said to say this: the Phillies should have Harper for the most games in 2024 since 2019, when he played 157 games in his first season in red pinstripes. The possibility for injuries always exists, but Harper has had some freak injuries (getting hit in the face and on his left thumb) over the past three seasons that don’t happen to a player most years. Now that he’s had Tommy John surgery once, there’s no reason to think he’ll have any right elbow issues moving forward, especially considering that he’s shifted from right field to first base on a full-time basis. And Lord willing, there won’t be another pandemic that causes the 162-game MLB schedule to be slashed by more than 50%.

When Harper has been on the field over the last three seasons, he’s been one of the league’s elite offensive players. Since the start of the 2021 season, Harper has slashed .297/.402/.546 with 74 home runs, 221 RBIs and a .948 OPS. And even with his struggles in Games 6 and 7 of the 2023 NLCS against the Arizona Diamondbacks acknowledged, Harper has been dominant in back-to-back postseason runs, homering 11 times and driving in 21 runs in 30 playoff games.

So if you’re wondering how the Phillies could potentially close the gap in the NL East between them and the Atlanta Braves, having a healthier Harper could go a long way. Over the last two years, Harper has played in 225 of a possible 324 regular season games. Certainly, that’s contributed to the Phillies not mounting serious NL East runs in either 2022 or 2023. Harper being healthier in 2024 alone won’t close the gap between the Phillies and Braves, who have won six consecutive NL East titles. But it could be one factor that leads to more of a competitive race between the two rivals in 2024.

Manager Rob Thomson will still have to pace Harper, even if the seven-time All-Star wants to play every day. When he played 157 games in 2019, Harper was 26. He’s now 31, and coming off of back-to-back deep postseason runs with the hope for a third in 2024. Trying to play 162 games in 2023, even if that includes some days at DH, isn’t a smart or realistic goal. But if Harper can play 150 games in 2024, that could help push the Phillies towards being a team that wins 95-ish games, as opposed to 90 a year ago.

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