Bryce Harper managed to survive the trade deadline, but the second half of the season is already providing another set of challenges.
The Washington Nationals star was forced to exit Saturday’s game against the Cincinnati Reds early due to a leg injury. Harper was struck by a 82-mph pitch from Reds reliever Austin Brice in the sixth inning. While the former MVP did his best to tough it out, he had to come out of the game the next half-inning as he was limping in the outfield, per Jamal Collier of MLB.com.
Uh oh. Bryce Harper just got hit on the right leg and went down. Trainer, Martinez out to check on him, but he’s up and walking to first base cautiously now
— Jamal Collier (@JamalCollier) August 5, 2018
Harper was limping out there in right field and now he’s coming out of the game. Adam Eaton will replace him in RF
— Jamal Collier (@JamalCollier) August 5, 2018
Harper has picked it up since the All-Star break with a .359 batting average and a 1.172 OPS but is still hitting a career-low .230 on the year as whole.
As for the Nationals, their desire to make a playoff push seemed to factor into the decision to hold onto Harper in the last year of his contract (though they did seriously consider a trade). Hopefully the 25-year-old’s health doesn’t throw a wrench into those plans.
