Rob Thomson on Bryce Harper’s unusual at-bat on Wednesday, his timeline at first base, and more

In the sixth inning of Wednesday’s loss to the Brewers, Bryce Harper had a strange at-bat. He stepped into the box but did not bend his knees or lift his hands or arch his bat back as Hoby Milner’s pitches crossed the plate. Instead, he rested his bat on his shoulder with his hands down, watching the pitches as they passed him by.

On the last pitch, with a 3-2 count, Harper crouched but did not swing. Milner struck him out. It didn’t seem as if Harper had any intention of swinging at any of Milner’s pitches.

Phillies manager Rob Thomson said he asked Harper about the at-bat after the game.

“I asked him about it,” Thomson said. “This is the second time he’s faced him. The first time he faced him, he couldn’t really pick him up. So he’s going to take a couple of pitches and try and find his release point. And then it got to the point where he got behind in the count, he didn’t really think he was going to throw him a strike until he got to 3-2 and then he was locked in. He just didn’t pull the trigger.

“As I said, early in the count, he’s trying to find his release point. Because he is really funky.”

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Harper was in and out of the clubhouse only briefly on Thursday morning and could not be reached for comment.

The at-bat piqued some curiosity, but the bigger question these days is whether Harper will play first base anytime soon. He did some work in the infield on Wednesday and told reporters that he is shooting to play this weekend in Cleveland, but neither Harper nor Thomson was able to specify a date.

“It’s possible this weekend,” Thomson said.

Harper’s timeline has been pushed back for a few reasons. He is recovering from a cold. There was also a doubleheader on Saturday and rain on Sunday that prevented Harper from doing his infield drills. But at this point, the designated hitter has done just about everything he can to prepare for the transition. Some things — like fielding different kinds of bunts and reacting quickly to balls coming off the bat at 100 mph or harder — can only be learned in games.

“I think [the biggest thing is] just the situational play,” Thomson said. “Handling bunts. It just so happens that he might get a lot of practice against Cleveland [this weekend], because they bunt a lot. But that’s OK. We’ve got to go through it. We can’t simulate everything. We can’t simulate game speed. He’ll adapt.”

Thomson is expecting teams to test Harper’s defense. The Phillies are also expecting him to make mistakes. How much of a leash they’ll give him with his mistakes is still unknown. Right now, it’s more important for the Phillies to see how Harper looks at first base ahead of the trade deadline. Whether he is able to stay there will determine how they proceed.

“You’ve got to give him a fair chance to figure out the position,” Thomson said. “He’s got to get some reps. He’s got to get some playing time. See where we’re at. Especially before the trade deadline.”

The Phillies will have to decide whether to add Rule 5 pick Noah Song to the active big league roster or put him through waivers by July 28. The team is still in the process of building Song out as a long reliever. Assuming all goes well, he’ll pitch his first two-inning outing on Saturday with triple A Lehigh Valley. Thomson said if Song will be used as a big league long man, he’ll need to be able to pitch two innings.

“It’s been OK,” Thomson said of Song. “He had one really good game and a couple of OKs. So, we’ll see. We’ve got to make a decision by the 28th.”

Song’s velocity was at 90-93 mph in his last outing on July 18. He has a 3.52 ERA and 11 strikeouts over 7⅔ innings with single-A Clearwater and double-A Reading this season.

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Seranthony Domínguez (strained muscle, left side) will start a rehab assignment with Lehigh Valley on Friday. He could need three or four outings, but Thomson said it will depend on how Domínguez feels. … José Alvarado (left elbow inflammation) threw out to 75 feet on Thursday.