Philadelphia Phillies playing waiting game now with Bryce Harper

After Saturday night’s pitch that fractured the thumb of Bryce Harper, for the Philadelphia Phillies and Harper, to quote Tom Petty, the waiting is the hardest part.

How long Bryce Harper will be out will be one of many questions the Philadelphia Phillies are hoping to have answered very soon

There are plenty of questions looming in the minds of the Philadelphia Phillies organization after Harper was struck by a 97.2 mph pitch from Blake Snell of the San Diego Padres in the fourth inning of Saturday night’s contest at Petco Park. The result was a fractured left thumb that will likely change the course of the season for the Phillies, who enter Sunday’s play with a 38-35 mark, 9.0 games out of first place in the National League East and 2.5 games out of the NL Wild Card race.

The biggest question, of course, is how long Harper will be out of action, and that’s a question that will not be answered until Philadelphia returns home following Sunday’s game in San Diego. In Philadelphia, Harper’s thumb will reportedly undergo futher evaluation. After a day off on Monday, the Phillies will open a three-game home series against the Atlanta Braves, a team four games ahead of them in the NL East standings.

Answers will come on Harper before the Phillies and Braves meet Tuesday night, and those answers will likely determine the next steps for Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski. Will the team make a trade to bolster the team’s chances at the postseason or stay put with the roster in place? How long Harper is out will likely determine that question as Dombrowski did reference how the Braves won the World Series last season without star outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. by rebuilding its outfield at the trade deadline.

Another big question will be who will step up in Harper’s absence, no matter how long that will be. Harper was putting up numbers this season to put him in line to defend his NL Most Valuable Player honor from last season, slashing .318/.385/.599 with an OPS+ of 175, and doing that with a torn UCL in his right arm he suffered in mid-April.

Harper was vitally important to the Phillies. Just how important will likely be seen as Harper is shelved with this injury.

Next steps will be known once the Phillies get back to Philadelphia. Those next steps and just how quickly Harper can step back in the box will likely determine the fate of the rest of the season in the City of Brotherly Love.