Phillies Superstar Still Hasn't Found His Groove Since Coming Back From Injury

The Philadelphia Phillies have been rolling so far this season, and they've done so while their biggest star has been struggling at the plate.

Jun 30, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies first base Bryce Harper (3) on deck during the first inning against the San Diego Padres at Citizens Bank Park | Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

With Independence Day now in the rear view mirror and the All-Star Game on the horizon, the Philadelphia Phillies have once again found themselves near the top of the table in a very crowded National League.

The City of Brotherly Love boasts one of the deepest and most star-studded rosters in all of Major League Baseball, and they also have an NL East-leading 53-37 record to go along with it.

The Phillies have been firing on all cylinders for months now, so much so that it's been very easy to overlook the struggles their superstar has been going through at the plate.

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Now in his seventh season with Philadelphia, Bryce Harper has been a shell of himself for most of the year.

As of this writing, the two-time NL MVP is carrying a .252/.356/.426 slash line, and has only managed to hit nine homers across his 230-plus at bats.

Some of the blame for Harper's lackluster production almost certainly falls on the nagging right wrist injury, and issue he played with through the majority of last season while dealing with the constant pain.

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This cropped up again this season, but unlike in 2024, the Phillies decided it was best to put the face of their franchise on the injured list during June.

He was put on the shelf on June 6 and wasn't activated until June 30.

Bryce Harper since returning from the IL:

3-for-16 with 8 Strikeouts pic.twitter.com/tMB8WFCzR1

— Phillies Tailgate (@PhilsTailgate) July 6, 2025

Whether or not the time Harper spent on the IL remedied the lingering wrist ailment for good remains to be seen, but it's clear that the time off has done nothing to help break him out of his slump.

Since returning to the lineup, Harper has gone 3-16 at the plate with eight strikeouts and an OPS nearing the sub-.500 mark.

This disappointing stretch mirrors the slump he dealt with for much of April, a month where he only managed to have a batting average of .224.

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These two stretches seem to indicate that whatever problem Harper is dealing with goes beyond just a potential injury.

Whatever the underlying cause for Harper's uncharacteristic production at the plate is, both he and Philadelphia will have to find a way to work through it over the back half of the season if they want to remain true World Series contenders.

If the Phillies are unable to figure out how to get the key to their lineup back on track, then it could very well end up spelling disaster for the team come October.

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