Bryce Harper Fractures Left Thumb, Out Indefinitely

In the fourth inning of a scoreless game on Saturday night, Philadelphia Phillies superstar Bryce Harper was hit by a pitch from San Diego Padres starter Blake Snell.

As a result, Harper has been diagnosed with a fractured left thumb, according to Matt Gelb of The Athletic. No timeline has been announced for Harper's path to recovery.

The injury couldn't have come at worse time, as Harper had been firing on all cylinders this month, hitting .359/.455/.641 with five home runs and 16 RBI in June. He has been excellent all season long, and his xBA, xSLG, and xwOBA all rank within the top one percent of hitters.

Thanks to his strong performance in the first three months of the season, Harper leads the National League All-Star race at designated hitter, with 1,059,433 votes through June 21, per the latest update from MLB. Beyond leading the DH race, Harper has the third-most votes of any player in the NL.

During the NBC Sports Philadelphia telecast, Tom McCarthy explained that the team's short-term solution is to call up Mickey Moniak from Lehigh Valley. Moniak struggled at the plate in his first MLB stint this season, which is why many see this as just a temporary fix. Moniak hit .160/.250/.160 across nine games with the big league club in 2022. Indeed, Moniak has struggled in all three of his cups of coffee with the Phillies; he is a career .139 hitter at the Major League level.

When Harper was day-to-day with a blister just a few days ago, manager Rob Thomson tried Alec Bohm, Nick Castellanos, and Kyle Schwarber in the designated hitter role. Philadelphia has no shortage of players who can fill in at DH as needed.

Harper's injury makes him the second Phillies player to fracture a finger on a hit by pitch this month. Jean Segura was sidelined for 10-12 weeks after a fracturing his right index finger in early June.

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