The Philadelphia Phillies certainly haven't had the week anyone would have liked. After a sweep at the hands of the Milwaukee Brewers last weekend, it looked like they were getting back on track with an 8-3 win in the series opener against the Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday.
After left-hander Cristopher Sánchez delivered in his start, rookie Mick Abel put together another impressive outing on Wednesday. Unfortunately, Jordan Romano couldn't hold a 1-1 tie and saw his former Blue Jays teammates walk it off in the ninth.
Following another Jesús Luzardo disaster on Thursday, the Phillies limped into Pittsburgh on Friday to open a weekend series with the Pirates. With Zack Wheeler away with his family and Aaron Nola on the 15-day IL, the Phillies were forced to get creative with their pitching staff. Their planned bullpen game, went about as well as they could have hoped, at least until the end. Romano got walked off in his second straight game, with the Phillies losing 5-4 for their seventh loss in their last eight.
But perhaps the biggest news from Friday was Bryce Harper's absence from the lineup.
Phillies News: Bryce Harper day-to-day with wrist injury
"Bryce Harper injury" are the three words that the Phillies and their fans don't want to hear, ever. But that's what happened on Friday, as Harper was held out of the lineup. According to The Philadelphia Inquirer's Scott Lauber, Harper has a sore right wrist and is day-to-day.
This is obviously horrible news. As we learned from Harper's last absence, the Phillies' lineup doesn't look quite the same without No. 3.
Harper was hit above the right elbow by a Spencer Strider fastball on in the first inning on May 27. He missed that entire six-game homestand with bruising and soreness, but returned to the lineup on Tuesday in Toronto with a home run in his first at-bat.
Apparently, the Phillies' first baseman has been playing through the injury for a while, and it was bothering him a bit more on Friday, Phillies manager Rob Thomson told the media before the series opener, per MLB.com's Paul Casella.
Bryce Harper is out tonight due to a lingering wrist issue that he’s been playing through for awhile, per Rob Thomson.
— Paul Casella (@Paul_CasellaMLB) June 6, 2025
Went to the trainers today and said it was bothering him a bit more. Thomson believes it’s a day-to-day situation.
At the time of writing, we hadn't heard about when the issue popped up, although he also dealt with a wrist injury down the stretch last season. He certainly didn't look like himself at the plate after the first-inning home run against the Blue Jays on Tuesday. Harper went 1-for-11 in the three-game series, with five strikeouts.
On the season, Harper is slashing .258/.368/.446 with nine home runs and 34 RBIs in 57 games. But since May 10, he has a more Harper-like .319/.407/.536 line with three homers in 19 games — and that's including his rough time in Toronto.
Aaron Nola's progress on IL has been delayed ... again
What was seemingly a minor injury has turned into somewhat of a saga for veteran right-hander Aaron Nola. Since being placed on the injured list on May 16 with a sprained right ankle, there has been progress, but it has been slow.
The Phillies originally thought Nola would be out the minimum 15 days, but it's been three weeks since Nola went on the shelf. While on their West Coast road trip, Nola admitted the ankle was taking longer to heal than anticipated, per Phillies Nation's Ty Daubert.
Unfortunately, the right-hander had another setback this week. He was scheduled to throw a live batting practice on Thursday in Toronto, but it was pushed back due to stiffness in his right side, per MLB.com. Thomson described it as "very mild."
Nola was already going to be going on a minor league rehab assignment before returning to the rotation, but the longer this drags on, the longer he'll need to build back up. The silver lining is that Abel is getting some run in the rotation. Still, hopefully this is the last setback for Nola.
Prospect Seth Johnson returned to Triple-A after pitching in Toronto
Part of the reality for young pitchers with minor league options is the very real possibility of making multiple trips between the minor leagues and the majors. Phillies No. 12 prospect Seth Johnson got a taste of that on Friday, but not for anything he did wrong.
The right-hander, who was brought up on June 1 as a bullpen arm, was demoted to Triple-A as the Phillies recalled right-hander Alan Rangel from Lehigh Valley. The good news for Johnson is that there's a good chance that this was simply a numbers game, and he'll be back before long.
With the bullpen game on Friday, the Phillies needed the extra arm, and Johnson threw two innings on Thursday, so wouldn't have been available. Facing the Blue Jays, Johnson went two innings, allowing one run on two hits. According to Lochlahn March ofThe Philadelphia Inquirer, Thomson was very pleased with what the 26-year-old showed in the outing.
“Johnson did a great job,” Thomson said, per March. “He showed me something [Thursday] with that velocity and the spin. … He’s really improved.”
Phillies have recalled RHP Alan Rangel from Lehigh Valley and optioned Seth Johnson. Johnson pitched two innings yesterday in Toronto.
— Lochlahn March (@lochlahn) June 6, 2025
“Johnson did a great job,” Thomson said. “He showed me something [Thursday] with that velocity and the spin. … He’s really improved.”
Rangel gave the Phillies three innings in his MLB debut on Friday, with his lone blemish a two-run home run. He allowed three hits, two walks and struck out one.
Unfortunately for Johnson, pitchers optioned to the minors must remain there for a minimum of 15 days. The earliest we could see him back in the Phillies' bullpen is June 21.