Bryce Harper Has Tommy John Surgery—To Miss Big Chunk Of Season

It's the not best-case scenario for Bryce Harper, but reports coming out of Philadelphia today are that the UCL surgery that the Phillies' team leader had today turned out to be a Tommy John procedure.

The prognosis is for Bryce to be returning as the designated hitter by the All-Star break of 2023 with a possible return to play right field towards the end of the regular season.

— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) November 23, 2022

And while the surgery went "very well" Harper isn't expected to return until July.  Certainly, the recovery from Tommy John surgery for a hitter is much shorter than it is for pitchers, who are usually out 12-18 months. Sometime more along the lines of seven months is more likely. 

Taking Shohei Ohtani as the perfect example, all rolled into one: the Los Angeles Angels two-way superstar had Tommy John surgery on Oct. 1, 2018. Ohtani the hitter returned as the Angels’ DH on May 7, 2019 — seven months. But Ohtani the pitcher didn't really make it back full-time until 2021. 

As @JSalisburyNBCS 1st reported, Bryce Harper had Tommy John surgery today. It was done by Dr. Neal ElAttrache. The expectation is that he will begin hitting five months -- for the 2nd straight year it will benefit the Phillies with their biggest star that the NL adopted the DH.

— Joel Sherman (@Joelsherman1) November 23, 2022

Harper is expected to be able to begin hitting in perhaps five months. That would be the end of April. When he's ready, the Phillies suggest "by the All-Star Break", Harper would return as a DH once again, "with a possible return to play right field towards the end of the regular season."

Photo: Thomas Shea-USA TODAY Sports