Phillies' Bryce Harper admits to playing through wrist, elbow injuries amid two-month power outage

Harper, who has homered six times since June ended, is hopeful his wrist will be improved by October

By R.J. Anderson Aug 30, 2024 at 6:09 pm ET• 1 min read

Philadelphia Phillies star Bryce Harper told reporters ahead of Friday's game against the Atlanta Braves (GameTracker) that he's been dealing with both wrist and elbow irritation. Harper told MLB's Todd Zolecki that he doesn't know what caused his wrist issue, but that it's bothered him dating back to May has "just generally got worse." At the same time, he expressed hope that his wrist in particular was improving.

"I don't want to make excuses for what I do," Harper said. "You know what I'm saying? I've just got to get through it. Hopefully, it gets better rather than getting worse. [The wrist's] finally getting to the point where I feel like it's turning a corner. My elbow is just like -- there."

Harper, 31, entered Friday having hit .278/.369/.520 (146 OPS+) with 26 home runs and 76 runs batted in. His contributions have been worth an estimated 3.7 Wins Above Replacement, according to Baseball Reference's calculations. Nevertheless, Harper has seen his power output taper off in a notable way over the last two months.