Bryce Harper injury news has become commonplace for the Washington Nationals star. Harper suffered an injury again on Sunday, September 13, when he was involved in a collision at second base. A report from the Washington Post stated that Harper collided with Miami Marlins second baseman Derek Dietrich as Harper attempted to round the bag. The MVP candidate immediately went to the ground and was removed from the game.
The Post reported that the Nationals removed him for precautionary reasons, citing a source from the team. It took about an hour for that information to come out, though, so it’s possible that the training staff is running some tests on Harper. It had been feared that he hit his head and may have suffered a concussion, but replays later showed it was his right side and neck that took the brunt of the collision.
During the 2015 MLB season , Bryce Harper has been putting up the best statistics of his career. Through the first 134 games of the season, Harper has a .333 batting average, .464 on-base percentage, and 1.113 OPS. All three numbers lead the National League. Harper also has 71 extra base hits, 85 RBIs, 104 runs scored, and 110 walks. Those are career-high numbers in every single category, showing the 22-year-old has lived up to his potential this season.
There are a lot of candidates in the running for the 2015 National League MVP, which could work against Harper due to how the Nationals are playing as a team. Entering play on Sunday, the Nationals had slipped to 71-70 on the season and 12 games out of first place in the NL East. With several other MVP candidates on teams about to make the postseason, Harper will have to finish the season with huge numbers to create separation in the voting.
The small piece of good news here is that Harper was able to walk off the field under his own power. That’s a big deal, even if it doesn’t confirm that he is going to be fine. With the Nationals falling out of contention, the front office and coaching staff also has no reason to rush Harper back to the field. Even if the next Bryce Harper injury update from the team reveals that he is just heavily bruised, the team may give him a few extra days off to heal. More specific information is also expected to come out following the Nationals vs. Marlins game.
[Image Source: Rob Foldy/Getty Images]
