Introduction
On Tuesday, May 25th, 2021 the Philadelphia Phillies have announced that they are placing their veteran superstar slugging right – fielder, Bryce Harper, on the 10 – day injured list with a bruised left forearm. This move by the Philadelphia Phillies comes after Harper has hit a massive mid – season slump as he is 0 for 16 lately. Bryce was held out of the Philadelphia Phillies’ line – up for the past few games, and it may be a good time for him to take a break in order to recalibrate his batting mechanics.
The Philadelphia Phillies’ veteran manager, Joe Girardi, has been recently claiming that he has intentionally not been disclosing Harper’s forearm injury in order to keep his opposing managers and their ball clubs guessing. I do not expect Bryce to miss more than a week of playing time as the Philadelphia Phillies are dropping down in the National League East standings.
Since last Friday, May 21st, 2021 the Phillies went from 2nd place in their division (approximately 5 days ago) to now sitting at the 4th spot out of the 5 in the NL East division of Major League Baseball. Although it is still very early in the 2021 MLB season to start panicking, the Philadelphia Phillies do not want to dig a deep hole right now as they find their division to be much more competitive this year than it has been in years past.
Bryce Harper’s 2021 Offensive Statistics (as of 5/26/2021)
After enjoying an extremely strong start to the 2021 Major League Baseball season, Harper has been unable to manage getting a hit down over the course of the past 4 to five games. Currently Bryce Harper is carrying a solid batting average of .274 which is only down from .276 over the course of his illustrious 10 year big – league baseball career. This year he has racked up 37 hits, 7 home runs, 13 RBIs, and 25 runs over the duration of his 135 official MLB at bats. At the moment his OBP is at .395, his slugging percentage is at .489, while his OPS is at .884, and Harper’s OPS + is sitting at 146 so far in 2021.
Hopefully when Bryce returns off of the injured list, he can get back to crushing the ball like he has become accustomed to over his years at the dish with the Washington Nationals from 2012 to 2018 as well as with the Philadelphia Phillies from 2019 to the present. His team needs him to produce if they stand a chance of winning the highly contested National League East division of Major League Baseball in 2021.
Media Statements
"There is a distinct advantage to the other manager if I tell you a guy's wrist is hurt," the manager of the Philadelphia Phillies, Joe Girardi, explained to the press earlier this week. "And the idea here is to win games. ... I understand you want to know. But there are distinct advantages that I can give another club if they know everything that's going on over here. So I'm sorry that I had to do that. But we're trying to win games and he's just not ready to go. I thought he'd be ready on Monday or Tuesday. He's not."
Bryce Harper’s Baseball Career Achievements, Honors, and Awards
- 6 Time MLB All – Star (2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018)
- National League MVP (2015)
- National League Rookie of the Year (2012)
- Silver Slugger Award (2015)
- National League Hank Aaron Award (2015)
- National League Home Run Leader (2015)
- Golden Spikes Award (2010)
Current MLB Standings (as of Wednesday, May 26th, 2021)
American League East
Tampa Bay Rays 30 – 20 0 Games Behind
Boston Red Sox 29 – 20 0.5 Games Behind
New York Yankees 28 – 20 1 Games Behind
Toronto Blue Jays 24 – 23 4.5 Games Behind
Baltimore Orioles 17 – 31 12 Games Behind
American League Central
Chicago White Sox 28 – 19 0 Games Behind
Cleveland Indians 26 – 20 1.5 Games Behind
Kansas City Royals 23 – 23 4.5 Games Behind
Minnesota Twins 19 – 29 9.5 Games Behind
Detroit Tigers 18 – 30 10.5 Games Behind
American League West
Oakland Athletics 28 – 22 0 Games Behind
Houston Astros 26 – 22 1 Games Behind
Seattle Mariners 23 – 26 4.5 Games Behind
Texas Rangers 22 – 28 6 Games Behind
Los Angeles Angels 21 – 27 6 Games Behind
National League East
New York Mets 22 – 20 0 Games Behind
Atlanta Braves 24 – 24 1 Games Behind
Philadelphia Phillies 24 – 25 1.5 Games Behind
Miami Marlins 23 – 25 2 Games Behind
Washington Nationals 20 – 24 3 Games Behind
National League Central
St. Louis Cardinals 26 – 22 0 Games Behind
Chicago Cubs 25 – 22 0.5 Games Behind
Milwaukee Brewers 24 – 24 2 Games Behind
Cincinnati Reds 21 – 25 4 Games Behind
Pittsburgh Pirates 18 – 29 7.5 Games Behind
National League West
San Diego Padres 31 – 18 0 Games Behind
Los Angeles Dodgers 30 – 18 0.5 Games Behind
San Francisco Giants 29 – 19 1.5 Games Behind
Colorado Rockies 19 – 30 12 Games Behind
Arizona Diamondbacks 18 – 31 13 Games Behind
Odds to Win the MLB 2021 World Series
According to Bovada sportsbook below are the odds to win the MLB 2021 World Series as of Wednesday, May 26th, 2021. Currently the Philadelphia Phillies have the 16th highest odds to win it all for this exciting 162 game regular season of Major League Baseball in addition to the 2021 MLB playoffs.
Team | Odds |
---|---|
Los Angeles Dodgers | +300 |
New York Yankees | +700 |
San Diego Padres | +700 |
Chicago White Sox | +800 |
New York Mets | +1000 |
Houston Astros | +1600 |
Atlanta Braves | +1700 |
Tampa Bay Rays | +1800 |
Oakland Athletics | +1800 |
Boston Red Sox | +1800 |
Sources:
“Philadelphia Phillies put slumping slugger Bryce Harper on 10-day IL with bruised forearm”, espn.com, May 25, 2021.
“Bryce Harper”, baseball-reference.com, May 26, 2021.
“MLB Standings 2021”, espn.com, May 26, 2021.
“United States, MLB Futures, MLB 2021 World Series: To Win Outright”, bovada.lv, May 26, 2021.