Bryce Harper Moves Exclusively To First Base
Bryce Harper is ditching his outfield glove for good. You’re looking at the new everyday first baseman for the Philadelphia Phillies. It’s not like this is a huge surprise. Harper transitioned to first base last year. However, it appears that the switch is going to be a permanent one.
Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post was the first to report the news. Dave Dombrowski has revealed that the plan going forward is for Harper to play first.
“He’s happy to do whatever we wanted him to do,” Dombrowski said, according to Todd Zolecki of MLB.com. “He said he’d play first or the outfield. He feels great. But the more we talked about it internally, we liked the idea of playing him at first.”
Harper, 31, made the switch after undergoing TJ surgery the season before. Moving to first was a great way to protect his throwing elbow. Also, it seems like the experiment has gone according to plan. Harper only made one error at first base all year in 2023. He also was a positive one defensive run saved. You will take those numbers, especially considering that Harper played outfield for his entire career.
The real takeaway is that it appears that Rhys Hoskins will move on. Hoskins, 30, tore his ACL and missed the entire 2023 MLB Season. Hoskins is a free agent this Winter and if the team is going to play Harper at first, his spot on the team is gone.
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