The procedure was meant to repair his torn UCL in his right elbow, the team announced on Wednesday. Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports was the first . He’s expected to be able to resume hitting “competitively” by mid-May.

Harper dealt with the injury all last year, which prevented him from throwing and limited him to primarily designated hitter duties. It didn’t slow him down at the plate, as he batted .286/.364/.514 with 18 home runs in 99 games. He raised his production to a new level in October, hitting .349/.414/.746 with six home runs in 17 games.