Is Phillies superstar Bryce Harper just delaying an inevitable trip to the IL?

Recently, Philadelphia Phillies star first baseman Bryce Harper admitted to the fact that he has been playing hurt for quite some time now. His ailments included both his right wrist and elbow, in particular the one on which he had Tommy John surgery. Kudos to Harper, who was adamant in toughing it out to help the Phillies as much as he can during their stretch run.

However, on Tuesday in the game against the Toronto Blue Jays, Todd Zolecki of MLB.com pointed out that Harper winced after taking a swing at a pitch in the ninth inning. Phillies’ manager Rob Thomson was quick to clarify that despite tweaking the elbow, Harper said he was fine enough and ended up staying in the game. Nevertheless, actually picking up visual signs of injury distress is never a good thing, especially for someone as important as Harper is to this Phillies team.

When Thomson was asked to elaborate on whether there were any concerns with Harper’s right elbow, he didn't seem worried.

“My concern lies with the concern of the trainers and Harp, and they seem to not have any concern,” Thomson said. “I think it’s just something that he’s got to play through, and he’ll be fine. … It grabs a little bit, but no structural damage. Nothing like that. I think it happens more on swings and misses, so I told him, ‘Don’t swing and miss.’”

Ok, so the key for Harper is don’t swing and miss, which is a tall task to ask for any baseball player in the majors. So what happens if he ends up missing many pitches, how much damage could it cause?

Is Phillies superstar Bryce Harper just delaying an inevitable trip to the IL?

As a result, it bodes the question, is the Phillies superstar actually just delaying an inevitable trip to the injured list? Because wincing and discomfort aside, there’s no question his ailments have been affecting and limiting the way he has been performing as of late. Despite still posting strong overall offensive numbers across the board for the season, his recent power outage is definitely much more concerning.

Since the All-Star break, Harper has hit only .247 with a .722 OPS, along with just five home runs and 15 RBI. Although his batting average has climbed in the past couple of weeks, the fact that he has only two home runs since the beginning of August is a lot more worrisome.

To make matters even worse, Harper left Wednesday’s finale against the Blue Jays after getting hit by a pitch in the left elbow in the first inning. He suffered a bruise and was expected be further evaluated. Although following the game, Thomson provided a more optimistic update, saying Harper was removed from the game as a precautionary measure as his elbow stiffened up and could have continued playing if he really had to, per Phillies Tailgate.

Nevertheless, with these two scares in two consecutive days, it's probably an inevitable sign telling Harper that he should seriously consider taking some time off to let his injuries heal. That way, he can come back stronger than ever to power the Phillies into the postseason.

Otherwise, his persistent heroics in playing hurt could, in fact, be more detrimental to both Harper’s health and the Phillies in the long run. That, of course, is the last thing the Phillies faithful want to happen.