Odubel Herrera continues to make progress in his recovery from a hamstring issue.
“He’s legitimately getting closer,” manager Gabe Kapler said on Wednesday. “I could see activation on Sunday.”
Scott Kingery, also on the injured list with a hamstring strain, is still a ways away, though he ramped up some of his rehab work on Wednesday.
“He ran today for the first time,” Kapler said. “That was a really exciting moment.”
Reliever David Robertson remains sidelined with a flexor strain in his right elbow/forearm. He is not making swift progress and there is no timetable for his return.
“He’s a little frustrated because he wants the soreness to be out of there and it’s not completely out of there,” Kapler said.
No days off for Harper?
Slumping Bryce Harper, hitting .196 in his previous 13 games, was back in right field against the Tigers on Wednesday night. Harper has started every game for the Phillies. Who knows when he’ll get a day off — or agree to one?
“With Bryce, we’re going to do this together,” Kapler said. “He’s not going to come in one day and say, ‘I’m not in the lineup.’ We’re going to talk about it. We’ve already talked about and we’ll continue to talk about.
“There’s a very real chance that Bryce will play 162 games this year. And if we discover he needs a blow some time, it’s something he and I will work on together.”
Kapler is not convinced that a day off is the strategy to get Harper right, especially when the Phillies had one Monday with another coming Thursday.
“I think that great hitters need to hit, great hitters need to be in the batter’s box,” Kapler said. “He’s physically sound, his bat speed is lightning, in batting practice he’s hitting the ball to the moon. I can’t think of a reason that is compelling enough to take that step.”
Kapler is not overly fazed by Harper’s struggles at the plate.
“I’m not trying to say everything is perfect, but this is natural for great hitters, great offensive performers,” he said.
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