CLEARWATER, Fla. -- Bryce Harper is the Phillies’ right fielder, and he will be their right fielder for a very long time.

Phillies manager Gabe Kapler reinforced Harper’s future in right following Monday’s 8-2 loss to the Rays at Spectrum Field. Harper played four innings there, and afterward he answered questions about playing defense for the first time this spring and playing solid defense in the future. Harper’s defensive metrics got run through the ringer over the winter as teams scrutinized and nitpicked everything about him while discussing their willingness to give him a record-breaking contract.

“I feel like if I can stay out of center field, that'd be great,” Harper said about the scrutiny.

Harper played 63 games in center field with the Nationals in 2018. He has played 184 games there in his career.

It would be a surprise if Harper plays there at all this season.

“Bryce is going to be our right fielder, Andrew McCutchen is going to be our left fielder,” Kapler said. “And we’re going to find the right center-field mix with the group that we have.”

That group includes Odubel Herrera, Roman Quinn, Aaron Altherr and Scott Kingery.

But back to those metrics. Harper was worth 3.5 Wins Above Replacement last season, according to FanGraphs. He was worth 1.3 WAR, according to Baseball Reference.

Harper's WAR would have been higher, but his defense hurt him. He had a -26 Defensive Runs Saved and a -14.4 Ultimate Zone Rating, according to FanGraphs. Harper ranked 84th out of 87 qualified outfielders last season with -13 Outs Above Average, according to Statcast.

Kapler said a few times in the offseason that he had reason to believe Harper was better than the numbers indicated.

“Probably most critically, we know that one defensive metric in isolation is not as dependable as we sometimes think,” Kapler said.

He offered other reasons, too.

“I can tell you that by the eye test he got solid jumps,” Kapler said. “He caught balls that we all expected him to catch. Made good throws.”

Harper threw to third on Avisail Garcia’s sacrifice fly in the first inning. The throw did not beat Rays center fielder Kevin Kiermaier, but it was on line and potentially could have gotten a slower runner.

“That was a pretty good throw,” Kapler said, “one of the better throws we’ve seen all spring -- on line, good four-seam rotation.”

Harper hyperextended his left knee late in the 2017 season. Harper’s agent Scott Boras said in the offseason that Harper’s health attributed to his drop in performance.

“I think it was more of playing about 65 in center field,” Harper said. “That takes a toll on myself, but it's no excuse. For me, it's just getting better out there. My knees felt great. For me, it's trying to get better. I know I was terrible last year in center field. But it's trying to get better. That's it. Plain and simple. At the end of the day, you've got to get better -- not making those overthrows and really making the right decisions. When you're letting runs in or anything like that, it's going to hurt your team. For me, it's getting better out there. I keep saying it, but it's true. I need to get better and do the little things right and be a little bit smarter out there and play the best right field that I can.”

MLB.com’s Mike Petriello examined Harper’s defense in November. He wondered if improved positioning in right field could help him in the future.

Maybe.

“We believe that Bryce deserves a blank slate,” Kapler said. “And the ability for us to see him through fresh eyes.”

Harper struck out looking in the first inning against Rays left-hander and reigning American League Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell. He walked in the fourth against lefty Jalen Beeks. The Rays used four outfielders in both plate appearances, just like the Blue Jays did in Harper's Phillies debut Saturday.

It will be interesting to see what happens once the regular season begins.

“It’s what they’re going to do,” Harper said. “I’m not really going to change anything that I do. Just try to go up there and be the type of hitter I am and do the things I can up there and not really worry about where they’re at or anything like that.”