Phillies’ Bryce Harper still ‘dry swinging;’ the wait for an update on Andrew Painter continues

SARASOTA, Fla. — Bryce Harper will arrive in Clearwater on Wednesday and will be in camp on Thursday, Phillies manager Rob Thomson announced Monday. The Phillies DH/right fielder had been rehabbing from Tommy John surgery on his right elbow at his home in Las Vegas, and will continue his rehab at the Phillies’ facility in Clearwater through the rest of spring training.

Harper will undergo a physical on Thursday, which should give Thomson and the training staff a better sense of where he is in his rehab. But for now, Thomson said Harper is still “dry swinging,” meaning that he is taking swings without hitting a ball.

Thomson provided no update on right-hander Andrew Painter, who came out of his first spring training start on March 1 with elbow tenderness. The 19-year-old phenom has not thrown since then. Thomson said the Phillies were still awaiting test results and hoped to have more information Tuesday.

Left-hander Michael Plassmeyer knows he isn’t a guy who will blow you away — his four-seam fastball averaged 89.2 mph last season — but he has been quietly building a solid case to earn the fifth starter spot this spring. Plassmeyer has yet to allow an earned run in his three Grapefruit League outings. In 5⅓ innings, he’s allowed just four hits and two walks.

He doesn’t have the extension of Bailey Falter or the velocity of Painter, but he does have poise — which Thomson has taken note of.

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“He’s a guy that the moment is not too big,” Thomson said. “I mean, his first appearance in the big leagues [last season] was bases loaded, we brought him in because we were out of pitching. He struck someone out and it was a decent hitter, I forget who it was. [It was Cincinnati’s Austin Romine.] He just has no heartbeat. He just throws strikes. The only downside was the first-pitch strikes today, but he came right back and threw strikes.

“He does a lot of little things, too. He holds runners. He fields the position well. He does a lot of good things.”

Plassmeyer said his goal is to mix his pitches well, and keep hitters off-balance, and he has made strides this offseason in that respect. He added two pitches to his arsenal this offseason — a cutter and a two-seam fastball — in addition to his slider, changeup and four-seam fastball. He’s still refining them, but has been throwing them a lot this spring, with good results.

“For me, being not a 97 mph guy, the more [pitches] the better,” Plassmeyer said. “I’m more of a command, location, deception kind of guy. It’s just another thing to put in those hitters’ heads, really.”

Thomson said left-hander Cristopher Sánchez, who is another candidate for the fifth starter spot, has not thrown in a game yet because he was dealing with a “lower-back thing” early in camp. The Phillies backed him off, and had him throw batting practice instead of games. He’ll pitch on Tuesday. … Utilityman Edmundo Sosa was hit by a pitch on his right arm in Monday’s game but said he felt fine.

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