Bryce Harper’s back is ready to carry the Phillies again | Extra Innings

Everyone reported to Phillies camp this week in great shape. The players have added muscle, lost weight, and did whatever it took this winter to be ready for the grind of a 162-game season. Spring training is back.

The games will finally begin Sunday in Florida when the Phillies bus to Lakeland to play the Tigers. The Phillies have almost already set their starting lineup, but there will still be plenty of decisions for manager Joe Girardi to make after 28 Grapefruit League games. Who’s playing center field? Which eight pitchers are in the bullpen? Who’s filling out his starting rotation? And how about the bench? It’s going to be an interesting five weeks. We’ll see who really came fit to win a job.

You’re signed up to get this newsletter in your inbox every Thursday during the Phillies offseason. If you like what you’re reading, tell your friends it’s free to sign up here. I want to know what you think, what we should add, and what you want to read, so send me feedback by email or on Twitter @matt_breen. Thank you for reading.

— Matt Breen (extrainnings@inquirer.com)

How bad was Bryce Harper’s back pain last season?

“I couldn’t throw a baseball,” he said Thursday.

Yet Harper refused to sit as the Phillies were in the final stages of a playoff race. Harper’s back bothered him for the last five weeks of the season, but he remained in the lineup for 34 of the team’s final 35 games. Maybe the Phillies would have made the playoffs last season if Harper’s back was not ailing. Instead, they were eliminated on the season’s final day. And Harper made sure he saw it through.

“I think it just shows you how bad he wants to win and how serious he takes being on the field every day,” Girardi said. “Bryce feels a responsibility of ‘I signed a contract and I need to be out there every day helping my teammates win.’ I really appreciate that.”

Harper arrived a day late to spring training this week as the team allowed him to remain in Las Vegas to finish a training program dedicated to his back. Harper said he started the offseason by resting for a month and a half, longer than he usually does, to allow his back to recharge. He then focused on training his back, believing he prepared this winter to remain healthy for the entire season.

Harper is able to throw a baseball again. It felt great, he said Thursday, to be able to throw from the outfield without feeling any soreness in his back. He utilized new exercises this winter, but also better understood the workouts he was already doing. It seems to be working.

“I was finally able to get over that pain,” Harper said. “I feel really good about where I’m at right now, but I have to stay on top of things. I need to understand how I’m working and my workload. I want to play every day. I want to be able to perform every day as well and be smart performing every single day. The Phillies and the city of Philadelphia are going to need me to do that for us to win.”

Harper’s production dipped in those final five weeks, as he hit .232 with a .856 OPS over 34 games. It was still a respectable stat line, but a decline from the .321 average and 1.114 OPS he had in the season’s first 24 games. Harper carried the Phillies on his back for the first month of last season. Then his back failed him. He did what it took this winter to make sure he can carry them again.

“I don’t want to complain about anything that I go through,” Harper said. “If it’s that bad, then I’ll stop playing. But we had 30 games left. You know what I’m saying? I wanted to win. I wanted to take advantage of what we were doing. I wanted to stay in the lineup for my teammates and things like that.”

Harper and many of his Phillies teammates have reached the age at which they should be peaking, Bob Brookover writes.

Didi Gregorius will be ready for the start of the season despite arriving late to spring training because of visa issues. He’ll undergo intake testing Friday and should join the team in the next few days.

Harper is hoping to be a mentor to top prospect Bryson Stott, Scott Lauber writes. The two Las Vegas natives spend a lot of time together in the offseason and are living together this spring. Harper has high praise for the shortstop.

Like everyone else, Harper was wondering what exactly the Phillies were doing this winter. But everything seemed to change once they hired Dave Dombrowski. Harper is on board and said, “You don’t really bring in Dombrowski unless it’s a win-now kind of move.”

Saturday: The Phillies hold their final workout before Grapefruit League play.

Sunday: Phillies head to Lakeland to play the Tigers, 1:05 p.m.

Monday: NBC Sports Philadelphia Plus airs Phillies at home vs. Orioles, 1:05 p.m.

Tuesday: Phillies travel all the way to Dunedin to face the Blue Jays, 1:07 p.m.

Wednesday: Back to Lakeland to play the Tigers, 1:05 p.m.

The Phillies might learn Friday if they will be able to have fans on opening day at Citizens Bank Park. The city is expected to announce a rollback of some COVID-19 restrictions after the Phillies, Flyers, and 76ers sent proposals to have fans in the stands. The total would be capped at 2,500 people — including players and staff — unless the state eases its limits on gatherings.

If the rollback occurs, April 1 would be the first Phillies regular-season game with fans in the stands since Sept. 29, 2019. The Phillies used 19 players that day, and just five are still with the organization. Only a real fan can name that day’s starting nine: Cesar Hernandez, second base; Brad Miller, left field; Bryce Harper, right field; Rhys Hoskins, first base; Adam Haseley, center field; Maikel Franco, third base; Andrew Knapp, catcher; Sean Rodriguez, shortstop; Blake Parker, starting pitcher.

It was Fan Appreciation Day, and Gabe Kapler used four pinch hitters: Nick Williams, Logan Morrison, Phil Gosselin, and Jose Pirela. None of them and none of the seven pitchers — Parker, Edgar Garcia, Nick Vincent, Mike Morin, Austin Davis, Jared Hughes, and Jose Alvarez — remain with the Phillies.

Send questions by email or on Twitter @matt_breen.

Question: How many games will be on TV this year? I miss my Phillies. — Alma O. via email

Answer: Thanks for the question. NBC Sports Philadelphia announced the spring training TV schedule this week, and it will broadcast 12 of the team’s 14 home games beginning with Monday’s game against Baltimore. If you order MLB.TV, you’ll be able to stream a handful of additional games, including the team’s four road games in Tampa against the Yankees.