Phillies will know by the trade deadline if Bryce Harper can play first base, Dave Dombrowski says

Less than two weeks before the trade deadline, the Phillies’ plan hinges, in large part, on Bryce Harper’s move to first base.

It won’t happen Thursday. Over the weekend in Cleveland?

Harper hopes so. He still intends to test three months’ worth of training at first base by playing there in games. But an interrupted practice schedule last weekend (the Phillies played a day-night doubleheader Saturday before being delayed by rain Sunday) has caused a delay.

After another round of infield practice Wednesday, Harper said he’s aiming to play “at least one [game]” at first base this weekend against the Guardians, depending on how he feels.

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Regardless, president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said the Phillies should know by the Aug. 1 deadline if Harper can play first base. They’re more or less counting on it.

“Because if Bryce can move to first base, it allows us then to free up the DH spot and put Kyle [Schwarber] there a little bit more,” Dombrowski said. “And then we have the ability to decide what we want to do in left field.”

Ideally, Dombrowski would like to add right-handed power at that position. The Phillies have missed Rhys Hoskins’ bat since he was lost to a season-ending knee injury late in spring training. There are more outfielders on the market than first basemen.

But even if the Phillies strike out on a right-handed hitter, they’re likely a better team with Schwarber out of left field, where he rates as the worst defender in baseball. The Phillies didn’t plan on using Schwarber in the outfield as much as they have, but Harper’s elbow injury required him to play there almost every day since April 2022.

“He’s such a gamer and he’s never going to complain, and if you asked him how do you feel, he’ll say, ‘I’m great. I’m ready,’” Dombrowski said of Schwarber. “I think it will benefit him just to get him off his feet. He’s a big guy. I think it will help him some.”

And so, the Phillies wait for Harper to give first base a shot.

“He’s going to go to first base at some point here,” Dombrowski said. “He’s working out. You see him working out all the time. He looks like he feels comfortable over there. He’s throwing from first base. But it’s also a situation that, there hasn’t been a lot of [chances to] work at first base in the recent time period.

“I think it’s more a matter of, OK, let’s get him out there, hit some ground balls to him, do his throwing, do the cutoffs and relays, and when he finally says, ‘Hey, I’m comfortable and ready,’ he’s been cleared from a doctor’s perspective.”

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The Phillies have another glaring need: starting pitching depth.

Even though left-hander Cristopher Sánchez stabilized the No. 5 spot in the rotation and the Phillies are confident in the “Big Four,” as Dombrowski calls them, of Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola, Taijuan Walker, and Ranger Suárez, Dombrowski said they lack options in the upper minors.

“That would be something we’d keep our eyes open to,” he said. “I don’t think you ever close anything up at this time of year. And I’m not going to say much more because I’m not going to exactly tip my hand on what we’re trying to do.”

Before Aug. 1, the Phillies face another deadline. They must decide by July 28 whether to add Rule 5 pitcher Noah Song to the active major-league roster and keep him for the rest of the season or put him through waivers.

“We don’t have any expectations at this point,” Dombrowski said. “I’d say he’s a consideration for [a roster spot], but I don’t know where that’s going to take us yet. It’s very dependent on how he throws over the next 10-day period.”

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Song, 26, has the added complication of having not pitched since 2019 because of a four-year military commitment to the Navy. He has been working as a reliever because there isn’t enough time to build his arm strength to start.

In two double-A appearances, Song has allowed two runs on three hits and two walks in three innings. Previously, he gave up one run on four hits and five walks in 4⅔ innings at low-A Clearwater. His velocity has been in the 92-94 mph range, down from the upper 90s after he was drafted by the Red Sox in 2019.

“He’s been throwing good,” Dombrowski said. “We’ll wait and we’ll see.”

Seranthony Domínguez, who hasn’t pitched in a game since June 15 because of a strained oblique muscle in his left side, will begin a minor league assignment Friday or Saturday, according to Thomson, who said Domínguez likely will make at least two appearances before being reinstated from the injured list. ... Lefty reliever José Alvarado (elbow inflammation) initiated a throwing program by playing catch off flat ground from 60 feet. ... Utility infielder Josh Harrison (bruised right wrist) has resumed full activity, including batting practice, despite some residual pain. ... Taijuan Walker (11-3, 4.00 ERA) will start the matinee series finale — 12:35 p.m. starting time — against Brewers ace righty Corbin Burnes (8-5, 3.73).