Bryce Harper nearing return to Phillies in minor-league rehab: ‘It’s good being back’

Bryce Harper is rehabbing at Triple-A Lehigh Valley. (Cheryl Pursell)

ALLENTOWN — Bryce Harper cracked a smile as he rounded the third-base bag in the first inning on Tuesday night at Coca-Cola Park.

Last year’s National League MVP had blasted a 375-foot home run in his first plate appearance in his minor-league rehab stint for Triple-A Lehigh Valley. In the eighth inning, he added another to the opposite field to boot. It all had to feel good after a nearly two-month layoff.

“It’s good being back,” Harper said. “Of course, I don’t want to be here all the time. I’m just excited to be down here playing and getting ready. The fans were great. The ballpark was awesome. The atmosphere was great. It was a lot of fun.”

Before Tuesday, the 29-year-old hadn’t played since June 25 after breaking his left thumb on a hit by pitch. His return to the field was a tremendous success as the Phillies star went 2-for-3 with two homers, two walks and three runs scored, igniting a sellout crowd of 10,100 fans and 195 dogs in a 10-5 win over Gwinnett on “IronMutts” night.

“It’s exciting,” Lehigh Valley manager Anthony Contreras said before the game. “Any time you get a high profile athlete like Bryce to come into town and be a part of what we’ve been doing all year, it’s always going to be fun.”

Fans streamed into the stadium and No. 4 “Harper” IronPigs t-shirts became a hot commodity as the left-handed-hitting slugger batted second as the designated hitter in Allentown. Harper certainly put on a show for the hometown crowd, taking a hanging slider from a left-hander deep to right-center in his first at-bat and sharply lining a fastball from a righty over the left-field wall in his last.

Already appearing to be in major-league form, one could only wonder how long it might be before Harper rejoins Philadelphia.

“(Tuesday night) was great,” he said. “But at the same time, I need the at-bats. I need to be able to see pitches, see different guys, different angles. Understanding what my body’s going to be like, what my thumb’s going to be like and go from there.”

Harper expects to be with Lehigh Valley through Saturday and could be back with the Phillies shortly afterward. During his time with the IronPigs, he’ll decide how many times he’ll bat per game or when he might need a day off.

“That’ll kind of be up to him,” Contreras said. ” When he’s feeling good and wants to stay in there, he’ll stay in. And he’ll kind of dictate what goes on from there.”

Harper’s time will still be spent at DH on his way back to the majors. He hasn’t played the field since he was diagnosed with a partially torn UCL in his right elbow in May. On Tuesday night, Harper said that he does not think he will be able to play right field in September.

But even with his contributions only coming offensively, the return of Harper’s bat will be a huge addition for a Phillies lineup that has taken care of business in his absence. Following a 7-6 walk-off win against Cincinnati on Tuesday, Philadelphia is 68-55 on the season, good for the second spot in the NL wild-card standings.

“They’re playing great,” Harper said. “Being able to watch them over the last couple months kind of grind it out and play as a team, understanding that each guy that’s coming up is next man up. I think being able to watch them see that just shows how together our group is up there, and I’m looking forward to getting back.”

Harper should be back in the mix for the Phillies soon, only providing more hope that the team can break into the postseason for the first time since 2011. The process to get him there started off in as well as anyone could’ve hoped.

“I was just happy to get back out on the field and be around baseball again,” Harper said.