Bryce Harper cleared to return, expected to be in Phillies’ lineup Tuesday

LOS ANGELES — Now, after all the swings and the batting practice and the final clearance Monday from his surgeon, Bryce Harper could say the quiet part out loud.

He planned it this way.

“I looked at this [Dodgers] series in the offseason and kind of put my head to where I needed to be,” the face of the Phillies said on the eve of his return to the lineup as a designated hitter in a 160-day eyeblink after a ligament reconstruction in his right elbow. “I wanted to put myself the earliest I could in my mind to work toward something to get out there. Could’ve been middle of April; could’ve been the end of May. But I wanted to put my mind on something.”

Why, then, the first week of May? And at this picture-postcard of a ballpark carved into the Los Angeles hills, where Harper made his major league debut 11 years ago?

“It’s May 1, a month into the season,” Harper said. “I just think, really, having five months to play this game, it helps everybody on this field.”

And so, Harper emerged from a morning appointment with noted orthopedic surgeon Neal ElAttrache without restrictions, at least as a hitter. When he walks back into Dodger Stadium on Tuesday, it will be to play — 2½ months before the Phillies’ initial “by the All-Star break” projection for his return.

Take a moment and think about that.

Even Harper told The Inquirer two weeks ago that “it’s kind of insane” to ponder an early-May return. But here he is, back from the procedure commonly known as “Tommy John surgery” faster than any major league player on record. The previous fastest return to the major league level was by Cardinals infielder Tony Womack, who got back in 182 days for opening day in 2004, although it’s worth noting that not every surgery occurs at the same time on the calendar or offers a chance for an immediate return.

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Two factors worked in Harper’s favor to accelerate his return: First, he bats left-handed, so his right (front) elbow is nondominant when he hits and incurs less strain when he swings. He also has the opportunity to return to a role that didn’t exist in the National League when outfielders such as Carl Crawford (221 days) and Luis Gonzalez (246 days) came back from Tommy John surgery.

Harper also had 90 games as a DH last year after initially injuring his elbow to understand what it felt like to play a hitter-only role. He knew how his elbow was supposed to feel and how far he could push it.

“That definitely helped me,” Harper said. “I know how it felt last year. I knew it was going to be a little bit different because I had surgery. But it definitely gave me a sense of how it should feel when I play.”

When Harper reported to spring training on March 9, neither he nor the Phillies deviated from the initial “by the All-Star break” timeline. As recently as two weeks ago, Harper pledged not to rush back and that returning safely rather than quickly was his mission.

But he responded well after taking batting practice on the field April 5 at Yankee Stadium. He progressed to facing live pitching, including No. 3 starter Ranger Suárez, who is coming back from an elbow injury. Harper got roughly 50 at-bats against pitchers.

The final verdict came when ElAttrache cleared Harper to slide at full speed and headfirst. There had been concern that sliding too soon would put the new ligament in danger of rupturing. But one athletic trainer said recently that those worries were overblown because sliding “has not been a typical mechanism for [elbow] injury, historically.” ElAttrache told Harper his elbow is ready.

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“Something could happen, a tag on me or I slide into a bag,” Harper said. “But I got word today that it wouldn’t matter right now today or in two months. I’m healed to where I need to be. We’re just going to play the games hard, play the right way, and not push the craziness of how I kind of play.”

Good luck with that, manager Rob Thomson said.

“Even if we tried, we wouldn’t be able to,” Thomson said of trying to rein in Harper’s violent swing or aggressiveness on the bases.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts kidding Harper before the game to “sit out three more days.” Harper has cautioned that it may take time to get his timing down. Last year, he went 20-for-93 with 30 strikeouts in his first 26 games back from a two-month absence with a broken left thumb.

Thomson wouldn’t divulge exactly where Harper will hit in the batting order, although his customary No. 3 spot is a solid guess. Regardless, it will be near the top. There will be a trickle-down effect. Harper’s return as a DH means Kyle Schwarber will have to play left field every day. Schwarber has appeared hobbled at times, but neither he nor the Phillies claim there’s anything wrong.

In 29 games without Harper going into Monday night’s series opener against the Dodgers, the 15-14 Phillies led the National League in hits (273) and ranked second in batting average (.272) and fourth in slugging (.444) and OPS (.771).

But they had also scored only the seventh-most runs (126).

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“It really creates a long lineup,” Thomson said. “When you see the lineup [Tuesday], you’re going to see some pretty good hitters way down there because [Harper] is back. Once he gets hot, we’re going to be a handful.”

Harper will continue to work daily at first base, according to Thomson, although it will still be a while before his throwing program progresses to full strength. He has been playing catch from 60 feet for the last week and will progress this week to 90 feet.

In the final game without Harper, struggling shortstop Trea Turner moved into the DH role. Turner, who played every previous game at shortstop, dragged a 6-for-42 funk into the series with the Dodgers, his former team. He was batting .260/.300/.374 with four doubles, two triples, and two homers.

The Phillies also will have to make a move to get Harper back on the active roster. Lefty-hitting outfielder Jake Cave and infielder Kody Clemens can be sent to the minors without being exposed to waivers.

“I think there’s excitement,” Thomson said. “Everybody knows what a great player he is, what a great hitter he is. I think everybody’s excited.”