Phillies

Bryce Harper Will Have UCL Surgery, Timetable for Recovery Unknown

By Kyle Pagan

Published: Nov 16th, 2022 · 12:23 PM EST

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Just like the mothers of the Main Line, Bryce Harper is going under the knife in his 30s:

Bryce Harper will have UCL surgery next Wednesday. Not sure if it will be Tommy John surgery or not, so timetable to return in 2023 is unknown.

— Todd Zolecki (@ToddZolecki) November 16, 2022

Imagine how far Bryce would’ve sent this ball with a fully functioning UCL:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHXvFk3mWqU

Dave Dombrowski said they don’t know if it will be Tommy John surgery, via RotoWire at CBSSports.com:

Dombrowski said he’s still unsure whether Harper will require Tommy John surgery or another type of procedure to repair the torn UCL in his right elbow, as a determination on that front won’t be known until Harper’s surgeon, Dr. Neal ElAttrache, has a chance to evaluate the injury and provide a recommendation.

If it’s Tommy John, we probably don’t see Bryce in the outfield until 2024. Shohei Ohtani had a similar surgery and he didn’t throw all of 2019 while it took him seven months to get back in the DH spot for the Angels. If this is the case, it would put Bryce back in the lineup sometime around June since he lost out on a month of rehab with the Phils World Series run. By that time, Carlos Rodon will be 8-0 and Trea Turner will be batting .330. Ho hum.

“Was the World Series run ACTUALLY a bad thing? 610-632…”