It's FINALLY Happening...MASSIVE Phillies Update

The day is finally here. Yes, I think you may already know what I am talking about, but that man on the screen right there is finally back into the Phillies lineup tonight. We're going to get into all of that, what went down today, as far as roster moves, Bryce Harper's return, what it means for the lineup as it's born. Obviously today, if you have not already seen, Bryce Harper has been reinstated from the 10-day intercept ahead of tonight's series opener on Monday night, fireworks night, down at Phillies Bank Park against San Diego Padres. To make room on the 26th man drop, their infielder, Buddy Kennedy, was designated for a sign. And I don't really have to, you know, explain to you why this is so important, because everybody watching this video already knows why. But getting Bryce Harper back in the lineup is just absolutely fantastic from a Phillies standpoint. Harper, you know, not having maybe the best start to his season that he's had in the past, but, you know, before he went down, still pretty darn good. 123 OPS plus, as you see over there on the right side of the screen, a 446-plus percentage before he went on the I.L., his 47 strikeouts, 8 stolen bases, 65 hits in 213 at bat, a free 68 on base, 35 walks, 9 home runs, 34 RBIs. The Phillies now get to slot their, you know, their best player. Bryce Harper's the Phillies' best player. And they get to slot him back into the lineup, and I know it's, you know, pretty easy to say, but getting your best player back in your lineup is just a massive boost. And it's a massive boost from the offensive standpoint. It's nice to get a glove back to first base. But it's also just to have the threat back in the lineup. When you see the Phillies' lineup, it's just way deeper than Bryce Harper's in there. If you don't have the bat, take that shot. Matt Kepler's not up here. Everybody slides back, and it just makes the lineup deeper. Tonight, obviously, Turner leading it off on Trey's 32nd birthday. That's first base, Turner. Leading off playing shortstop tonight, Kyle Swarbrick in the V.A. spot. There's Bryce Harper back in the three-hole, playing first base. Alex Boehm hitting fourth, playing third base. Nick Castellanos out to right field in the fifth. Matt Kepler, who was struggling recently, is out in left field. Hitting sixth, J.D. Romito behind the dish. Hitting seventh, Bryce Scott. Second base, hitting eighth, and Brandon March out to center field. In the nine-hole tonight, playing center field with none other than Zach Wheeler on the mound. But I do want to dive into just a little bit more on Bryce's reinstatement and the injury itself. So, Harper spoke to reporters at the beginning, and he basically said he didn't think that his wrist would feel any better than it does now, today. He and his team decided it was the right time for Turner and Harper, but I felt that the time lapse had a standstill of it feeling the same the last couple days. I won't lie, but the detail of Harper's speech to the reporters and the writers, and everybody out there in the media world, it just kind of seems like the Phillies don't know if it's going to be a 100% success. If Harper came back and was 100% and ready to go, Harper would have said that. Harper's, you know, he's not a man of a ton of words. He says what he needs to say, and he's very passionate about everything. But, you know, if he doesn't go on these 10-minute rants about the in-depth of his injury, if he knew he was 100%, he's going to say he's 100%. And, you know, deep down, I think this is an injury right now that the Phillies are just probably going to have to bond with. Yeah, it's getting Harper back in the game, but he should be able to play the next 20 straight games. There's going to have to be days off in there for Harper. Obviously, now with Otto Kemp up on the team and having a nice little start to his major league career, the Phillies can afford maybe a day off for Harper, or maybe just having a D.A. sports day, maybe go out to left field and have Harper's D.A. catch Kemp's play first. The Phillies have options, but I think it's going to have to be something. I think the Phillies are going to have to bond. Because right now, the Phillies need Bryce Harper 100% for Otto. And I think we saw this lineup and the state of this lineup without him. And I'm not saying Bryce Harper fixes everything, because realistically, you only get through to him when time comes. But it's just the – it's the fear factor, it's depth, and it's everything that goes along with it, other than him just being a really good hitter and overall player. But, once again, it's just going to be something I think they're going to have to bond. Because, you know, I didn't love this quote, I can't lie. I just think, you know, something is just still a little wrong. And I think they kind of knew that. But when I, along the border, spoke to Harper a few weeks ago, down at the same park, and he was still on the injured list, basically said it's kind of a waiting game. There's no surgery that's required. There's no bone. It's just something they're going to have to monitor, treat the right way, and bring him back if that's what's best. I fully expect the Phillies to do that. But, you know, it's their start point. And it's the way the game went out, right? And Harper, I think, before Bryce went down, the sign-up needs Bryce Harper. Granted, I will say, all I asked the Phillies to do was to Harper, the turn was the treadmill. When you lose your best player, you can't expect to go 10 games in for $500. It's just how the game works. The Phillies went 13 and 14 in the game for Bryce Harper. One game was for $500. It could have been a lot worse. There could have been a lot more games in there they lost. Some of these games were fast. That ball bowled, and they still ended up pulling it out. Some of these games could have gone a lot worse, and they didn't. But Bryce Harper is back, and he will be in the lineup again today. Once again, lineup tonight, Phillies opener, Zach Wheeler versus Matt Waldron for the San Diego Padres. Shortstop, fouls forward in the E-8 spot. Second Bryce Harper for the first. Hitting third, Alec Bones, over at third base. Hitting up past the honors. Kepler, left base. Stock, second base, and park. Game, center field. I do want to give just one really quick shout-out here at the end of the video to Aaron Noah. Today, Aaron Noah has yet another access to the team. Ten years of service time. Phillies mainstay from the MLB Players Association. Phillies mainstay is one of the elite A's in baseball. He was 22 in 2015, ten years ago. He appears prominently in the franchise record book. He's on top in strikeout wins, and he wore a bump pitcher. 2018 All-Star to Cy Young goes to 476. He's marked in Philadelphia. A big shout-out to Aaron Noah for ten years of service time. Bryce is back. I want you to give me a prediction. If you stayed this long, thank you once again. Give me a player that you think is going to go dark tonight. I got Trey. My prediction tonight is Trey Turner hits his first home run in Cincinnati back 15. Yes, you're probably like, wait, what? Trey Turner has 11 home runs this year. They are all on the road. Still waiting for his first home run. Probably the best hitter on the Phillies this year. My prediction is that he finally goes dark and is back tonight. And once again, if you guys have not subscribed to the channel already, please do so. We are throwing fast here on Phillies Digest. This is a new episode of the Phillies Digest. Thanks for tuning in. Have a great day, guys.