Phillies' Bryce Harper Placed on 10-Day IL with Wrist Injury, Otto Kemp Called Up

The Philadelphia Phillies announced Saturday that they placed first baseman Bryce Harper on the 10-day injured list.

Harper, who is dealing with right wrist inflammation, missed Friday's loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates. The start of his IL stint is retroactive to June 6.

To fill Harper's spot on the roster, the Phillies selected the contract of 25-year-old utility man Otto Kemp from Triple-A Lehigh Valley.

The 32-year-old Harper is in the midst of his 14th MLB season and his seventh as a member of the Phillies.

Through 57 games this season, Harper is slashing .258/.368./.446 with nine home runs, 34 RBI, 32 runs scored and eight stolen bases.

Harper has put together a résumé worthy of Hall of Fame consideration with a career batting average of .281 to go along with 345 home runs and 1,010 RBI. He is also an eight-time All-Star, four-time Silver Slugger Award winner and two-time National League MVP, plus he won the NL Rookie of the Year Award with the Washington Nationals in 2012.

After a UCL tear limited Harper to designated hitter duties for most of the 2022 season, Harper began playing some first base in 2023 rather than his traditional spot in right field, and he has been the Phillies' full-time first baseman for the past two seasons.

While Harper has quickly developed into a solid defensive first baseman, his offensive production has been down so far this season compared to his previous seasons in Philadelphia.

Over his first six years with the Phillies, Harper averaged a slash line of .285/.391/.533 to go along with 25 homers and 76 RBI per season.

Harper missed five games after getting hit by a pitch on the elbow on May 27, but when he sat out Friday's game against Pittsburgh, Phillies manager Rob Thomson told reporters the absence was unrelated to his elbow.

Thomson said Harper's wrist had been "sore for a while," and he was "fighting through it."

That could partially explain why Harper hasn't played up to his usual standards at the plate this season, meaning a break may prove beneficial.

With Harper out of the lineup Friday, Alec Bohm slid over from his usual spot at third base to first, and Edmundo Sosa got the start at the hot corner.

Sosa is hitting .291 this season with a .333 on-base percentage, but his power production falls well short of what Harper brings to the table, as he has just one home run and 13 RBI on the year.

Kemp, who has appeared in 12 games at first base in Triple-A this season, could potentially see some extensive playing time with the Phillies while Harper is out.

In 58 games for Lehigh Valley, he is slashing an impressive .313/.416/.594 with 14 homers, 55 RBI and 11 stolen bases.