No plans for Phillies’ Bryce Harper to resume throwing after examination reveals little progress

Bryce Harper met with the Phillies doctors before Tuesday night’s game to determine whether he’s cleared to resume throwing.

And?

“Pretty much the same thing,” Harper said Wednesday, adding that he hasn’t been given a timetable to put the strained flexor tendon in his right forearm to the test again. “We’re still kind of sit-and-wait. It’s pretty much the same report that we had last time.”

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Harper hasn’t played right field since April 16. He hasn’t attempted to throw since he played light catch April 27 and reported an “achy” feeling in his elbow, a sensation that he maintains he doesn’t feel when he swings the bat. If he did, the Phillies would put him on the injured list.

Instead, Harper started his 16th consecutive game as the Phillies’ designated hitter Wednesday night against the Texas Rangers. He insists he misses the action of playing the outfield. But he also doesn’t want to risk further injury by coming back too soon.

“You know how I throw from the outfield,” Harper said. “I try to throw it as hard as I can when I throw, so we’re just not there yet.”

Phillies manager Joe Girardi isn’t in any rush, either, especially because he can keep writing No. 3′s name in the No. 3 spot of the lineup. Girardi suggested that players typically miss four to six weeks with a forearm strain. Harper has not yet reached the three-week mark.

Harper said there are no plans to attempt to speed the process with an injection. He will continue to receive treatment from the training staff and undergo strength tests and other exams to help gauge his progress.

“Actually when he came in [Tuesday], he said it was the best he had felt, but in talking to the doctor and [athletic trainer Paul Buchheit], we’re just not going to push him,” Girardi said. “Because when we get him back, we want him back, right? I don’t want a setback.”

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Entering play Wednesday night against Rangers lefty starter Martín Pérez, Harper was in a 1-for-15, five-strikeout rut. He was 17-for-59 (.288) with a .307 on-base percentage, four doubles, three homers, and a .542 slugging percentage overall in his run as the DH.

Upon further review, Girardi said reliever José Alvarado had trouble hearing the electronic pitch signal from catcher J.T. Realmuto on a critical cross-up that led to a run-scoring passed ball in the fifth inning Sunday night in New York. Alvarado thought he heard “sinker,” but Realmuto wanted a “slider.”

“He said the volume was kind of going up and down, and he heard just the end of it,” Girardi said. “And I said, ‘Look, Alvy, you have to make sure that you hear what you think you hear, so step off and ask him to give [the sign] again.’ It’s the first time it’s happened.”

Indeed, Realmuto has said cross-ups are less common with PitchCom, the wearable technology that allows catchers to call pitches without traditional hand signs. Most teams are using PitchCom in part to help decrease the likelihood of sign-stealing.

A catcher wears a transmitter and pushes a button to indicate the pitch. The pitcher gets the sign through a voice recording (in the Phillies’ case, it’s usually Realmuto’s voice) on an audio receiver in his cap. Team translator Diego Ettedgui voiced the signs for Spanish-speaking pitchers, such as Alvarado.

Girardi initially suspected that the translations for “sinker” and “slider” weren’t different enough. Upon hearing them again, he was satisfied that there wasn’t a miscommunication but rather an audio issue. Girardi has a potential solution for that.

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“I hope that we can get to a point where it’s an actual earpiece for each individual pitcher,” said Girardi, who favors the use of PitchCom. “Like the earpieces that broadcasters wear that are fitted to their ear. I would like to see them give that eventually for each pitcher.”

With the Phillies facing a left-handed starting pitcher Wednesday night, righty-swinging Alec Bohm batted leadoff for the first time in his major league career.

“Nothing different,” Bohm said. “Just play your game. That’s why they put you there.”

The Phillies have used five leadoff hitters in 25 games, with Bohm joining Kyle Schwarber, Jean Segura, Realmuto, and Odúbel Herrera. Girardi said earlier in the week that he wanted to stick with Schwarber for a while.

Schwarber remains the choice against righties, according to Girardi, and the Phillies will face at least three in a row in the four-game series with the New York Mets that opens Thursday night at Citizens Bank Park.

Phillies leadoff hitters were batting a combined .150 with a .211 on-base percentage, worst in the majors.

Nick Castellanos returned to the lineup after a one-day absence for the birth of his son. ... Aaron Nola (1-3, 3.90 ERA) will start the opener against Mets right-hander Taijuan Walker (0-0, 0.00). The Phillies have scored one run in Nola’s last three starts, including back-to-back shutouts (1-0 against the Milwaukee Brewers on April 24 and 3-0 in a no-hitter by the Mets on Friday).