Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports
Washington Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper was placed on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to May 27, with a left knee injury. Last season’s National League Rookie of the Year has stated that he would like to rest as much as possible before returning to baseball activities, something that could occur later this week.
“I’m not hitting or running,” Harper said, according to Nationals.com. “I’ll probably start that the middle or the end of next week, if I feel good. If I don’t, I’ll keep off of it.”
The 20-year-old originally suffered the injury against the Atlanta Braves on April 30 after he collided with the right field wall at Turner Field.
“After I hit the wall here, I should have probably gone on the DL and really just tried to get better and come back 15 days later,” Harper said, according to Nationals.com. “But with a lot of guys out, I wanted to stay in the lineup. Of course, I want to play every day. It’s something that maybe I’ll learn more in my career, to take off 15 days instead of lose the month or whatever.”
Harper re-aggravated the injury when he collided with the right field wall in Dodger Stadium on May 13, which is when everyone thought the injury had initially occurred. He continued to play through discomfort, but the pain in his left knee became too much during Washington’s 6-1 win against the Philadelphia Phillies on May 26.
There is no point for Harper to begin his workout routine ahead of schedule because the last thing the Nationals need is a long-term problem. At this point, the team is content with him taking his time to recover, even if there is a possibility that it will take several weeks.
Harper is batting .287 with 12 home runs, 23 RBI, seven doubles, one triple, two stolen bases and 29 runs in 150 at-bats this season.
