Philadelphia Phillies interim manager Rob Thomson offered the clearest sign yet that Bryce Harper is nearing a rehab stint in his pregame media session Tuesday afternoon in Cincinnati.
While Thomson didn't give an exact date, he did the next best thing.
"Early next week, possibly," Thomson said of when Harper could begin a rehab stint, according to Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia.
"We're looking around that 24th date, somewhere around there."
Thomson would go on to say that Harper's rehab stint is most likely to take place with the Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs. The IronPigs are slated to open a six-game series with the Gwinnett Stripers next Tuesday, with Wednesday being the potential date that Thomson mentioned.
Harper took batting practice on the field at Citizens Bank Park Monday for the first time since he fractured his left thumb on June 25. Afterwards, president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski mentioned the beginning of September as a possible return date to the majors for Harper.
"Well, Bryce has made great progress and today is the first day that he's hitting on the field, so we feel really good about that," Dombrowski told Chris Russo on MLB Network. "He's done very well with the recovery. Now, it's really kind of up to him. He's been cleared as far as participation is concerned, so he's out there just working his way back up. So when you say Sept. 1, I think that's a realistic goal."
At 64-51, the Phillies will enter play Tuesday night a half game ahead of the San Diego Padres for the second Wild Card spot in the National League. Getting the reigning NL MVP back in time for the final five weeks of the regular season would go a long way towards helping the Phillies return to the postseason for the first time since 2011.
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