‘I want to be smart about it’: As Bryce Harper begins sliding, he cautions against rushing his rehab

CINCINNATI — Check off another box on your Bryce Harper bingo card.

Harper went through sliding drills — feet-first, for now — for the first time Friday under the supervision of Phillies athletic trainer Paul Buchheit at Great American Ball Park. The latest step in Harper’s recovery from an elbow ligament reconstruction in his right (throwing) arm comes while he continues taking daily batting practice from hitting coach Kevin Long and a high-velocity pitching machine.

» READ MORE: How Nick Castellanos’ time in Cincinnati — and a meeting with a Reds icon — helped set him up for Year 2 with the Phillies

But although it appears Harper will easily beat the Phillies’ “by the All-Star break” projection for his return to the lineup as a designated hitter, the two-time National League MVP insisted his timeline isn’t being pushed up and vowed to remain thorough about making sure he doesn’t skip steps along the way.

“I’m not trying to just be the fastest guy coming back. That’s not what I want to do,” Harper told The Inquirer. “I don’t want to just be the fastest. I want to be smart about it, too. I don’t want to be dumb. This isn’t just some rinky-dink surgery that I had. It’s a big-time surgery. I want to come back. But I want to do it smart.”

Harper had surgery on Nov. 23. The procedure, commonly known as Tommy John surgery, is far more common among pitchers than position players. It also takes non-pitchers less time to recover.

And because the Phillies can bring back Harper as a DH, he can make it back before the typical eight- or nine-month estimate to resume making throws from the outfield — or even first base, where he has been taking grounders.

But Harper also noted that he has been taking batting practice for only about 2½ weeks. He didn’t have a spring training. A lot of things can go wrong if he gets carried away.

“I want to be able to slide into a bag and be OK just sliding into a bag,” Harper said. “That’s a major thing. Sliding into a bag, if somebody hits me or tags me and I frickin’ sprain it and I’m out for the next four months, that does nothing for us. That does nothing for me. That does nothing for my guys in the clubhouse. It’s deflating, right?”

» READ MORE: Bryce Harper, first baseman? Here’s why it makes sense for the Phillies.

Harper credited Buchheit for helping to steer the rehab process, including pulling back the reins when they need to slow down.

Oh, and about the first base experiment?

Harper explained that he spoke with president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski about taking grounders at first not because he has been told by doctors that it would get him back to playing a defensive position faster than if he returns to right field. Instead, Harper thinks he can help bring continuity to first base, where the Phillies have lost Rhys Hoskins for the season to knee surgery and Darick Hall for at least two months to thumb surgery, and have resorted to shuttling Alec Bohm between his natural third base and first.

“Bohmer’s so good at third base right now,” Harper said. “I want to keep him — and this isn’t just me — so normalized at third base for his confidence and his mind. I’m not saying he can’t [move between positions]. He can do it. But this just gives them the simplicity of, ‘OK, Bohmer’s at third base, Trea [Turner] is our shortstop, Bryson [Stott] is at second,’ and there you go.”

Meanwhile, returning to the lineup as a DH is Harper’s first priority.

Harper did say that he’s not interested in a lengthy tour of the minor leagues once he’s cleared for game action. In coming back last year from a two-month absence with a broken left thumb, he went 5-for-8 with two doubles and two homers in two triple-A games before cutting short his rehab assignment.

» READ MORE: Phillies’ Rhys Hoskins focusing for now on ‘small wins’ during rehab with a big goal in mind

But Harper struggled upon his return. He went 20-for-93 (.215) in his first 26 games back and said it took time to regain his rhythm.

“It’ll feel like spring training probably for like the first month that I do come back,” Harper said. “It is what it is. It’s good talent down there [in triple A]. It’s nothing against that at all. But big league talent’s a little bit different. A big league game is a little bit different.

“The way I am, if my body feels good, I’m going to keep pushing it. I feel great right now. But it’s the moment that I don’t that we’re all sitting here going, ‘What did we do? Why did we do that?’ Just got to keep progressing, keep understanding that we need to check this off, check that off, keep going. And when I’m back, I’m back.”

Ranger Suárez (elbow) threw 40 pitches off the bullpen mound and simulated a between-innings break. Next step: Facing hitters in live batting practice next week. Thomson said the Phillies want Suárez to build up to about 90 pitches before he joins the rotation. ... Top prospect Andrew Painter (elbow) played catch again in Clearwater, Fla., increasing the distance to 60 feet. ... With his homer Thursday in his 168th regular-season game for the Phillies, Kyle Schwarber became the fastest to 50 homers in franchise history, eclipsing Jim Thome (172 games). ... Left-hander Matt Strahm (1-0, 0.00 ERA) will be opposed Saturday by Reds right-hander Graham Ashcraft (1-0, 2.08).