Harper hopeful to have pins removed from thumb in a week

PHILADELPHIA -- Bryce Harper hoped to have three pins removed from his fractured left thumb on Monday.

Maybe it will happen next Monday instead.

“Everything’s on the right path, everything’s going good,” Harper said Monday afternoon at Citizens Bank Park. “It’s just not where we want it to be at this point to be able to pull the pins and be successful with it. So hopefully another week will get us there, but right now, we're just not there yet. [The doctor] said we'll check back in a week and see where we're at. Hopefully, we'll be able to pull them Monday and get ready to go.”

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Harper has not played since June 25, when Padres pitcher Blake Snell hit him with a fastball during a game in San Diego. Harper had surgery June 29.

Harper said he absolutely will play again this season, although he has declined to offer a timeline. Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said Monday he hopes Harper will be back for the final month of the season, although some think he could return before the end of August.

Dombrowski pointed out that the Phillies never placed Harper on the 60-day injured list. If they had, he would not be eligible to be activated until August 25. Keeping him on the 10-day IL at least leaves the door open for an earlier return.

Jean Segura has not played since May 31 because of a fractured right index finger. He had pins removed from his finger on July 5. Segura is scheduled to begin a rehab assignment on Tuesday with Triple-A Lehigh Valley. He is eligible to be activated from the 60-day IL as early as Sunday, but he said he hopes to rejoin the team following the next road trip, which ends August 3 in Atlanta.

As Harper waits to have the pins removed, he is coming to the ballpark every day, working out and getting treatment on his right elbow and shoulder. Before Harper broke his thumb, he had been playing with a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow, which has kept him out of right field since April 16. He had a PRP injection in the elbow on May 15.

“I kind of feel like I'm in the offseason, just working out and getting treatment,” Harper said. “We'll be throwing when I get back. Once I get the pins out, I can kind of -- I'm not allowed to sweat really right now, just because the pins are sticking out of my hand, so I can't get an infection. We have to be aware of that. But when I do get the pins out, we'll start progressing with that. That's another program I have to go through -- throwing program. Hopefully, [I'll] be in right field by the end of the year, playing out there and being successful throwing a baseball.”

But at the very least, Harper plans to be back as a DH.

“Absolutely, 100 percent,” he said. “That's the main goal right now, try to get back in the lineup as fast as possible, but understanding that I want to be playing at a high level when I get back, too. Not just, 'Hey, I'm back in the lineup,' but getting back and playing at a high level knowing I've got at-bats under me.”