Bryce Harper reinstated from 10-day disabled list

PHILADELPHIA — Part of the joy around Bryce Harper hung from the black lockbox in his locker. An old Philadelphia Inquirer cartoon had been taped next to the code to get into the box. It showed the green, rotund, ATV-driving Phillie Phanatic eschewing his day job and instead holding up a sign that said, “Harper,” suggesting this blatantly noticeable character was at the airport to pick the slugger up. Harper, who once pranked the Phanatic in 2015 and hit two home runs in the same night, appears confused in the cartoon, suggested the suited Phanatic does not look like his normal driver.

The cartoon was part of a day of levity. Harper was activated from the 10-day disabled list on Tuesday, 41 games and almost six weeks after his harrowing tumble past first base in Nationals Park on a slick Saturday night. The fall hyperextended and bruised his left knee, plus strained Harper’s left calf. It also produced legitimate wonder if Harper would return at any point this season.

He now has a truncated window to rapidly get ready for the playoffs. Harper was hitting second Tuesday night, sandwiched between Trea Turner and Anthony Rendon, in an attempt to maximize his at-bats. He was not sure how long he would play his first night back on the field in front of a minimalist Philadelphia crowd that partly cheered and partly booed when his name was announced as part of the lineup. He walked on four pitches in his first plate appearance, struck out in his second, popped out in his third. He was removed after the fifth inning.

“I feel fine,” Harper said before the game. “If I wasn’t ready to go I wouldn’t be in the lineup. Excited to be back out there with the guys, with the team. It was a lot of fun hanging out with (clubhouse manager Mike Wallace) in the clubhouse all day but excited to be back in there today.”

“Fine,” in this case, means without pain. Harper had stressed following his injury that he would not play if he was in pain or something did not seem right. The comments seemed to be an acknowledgement that his wayward, by his standards, 2016 season was influenced by an injury, though he has never admitted that publicly. Harper’s wall-crashing, limb-risking ways seem to be behind him. Experience and a looming massive contract can influence thoughts of self-preservation.

On Aug. 12, when Harper hurled through the air, initial fears were enmeshed in a long-term injury. The Nationals were relieved to announce the hyperextension and bruise — it was Harper who weeks later made his calf strain public — the next day.

That started a process with meager beginnings. After grappling with swelling and aches, Harper moved to simplistic calf raises. He was trying to protect the knee at the start of his rehabilitation.

He was also bored and antsy.

Eventually, he moved into the batting cages where he hit off a tee and did soft-toss drills. Outfield jogging from foul pole to foul pole along the warning track was another step. Live batting practice, simulated games and taking fly balls in right field followed.

“Every step I tried to hit and every step I did hit,” Harper said. “I wanted to feel the best I could and this was the series I got back to.”

Harper’s coming innings during the final six games before the playoffs will be at the behest of Nationals manager Dusty Baker. Harper said he did not want to know Baker’s plan before the game Tuesday. He instead just wanted to play until they told him he had to stop, whether that was three, six or the unlikely nine innings. Baker said he had a plan. He chose to keep it to himself in order not to be asked after the fact why Harper came out early or late, should either be a deviation. Baker will also be working off feel.

“Heck, there’s not like there’s a bunch of time,” Baker said. “I do [it] kind of like spring training. It’s a feel thing. I got to see how he feels and how he comes out tomorrow. Game speed is totally different than practice speed. You’re asking me questions that only his body and what I see can answer.”

Next, Harper will assess how he feels Wednesday. He said after Tuesday’s game, that if he feels well the next day, he will play. If not, he will wait until the team returns to the District for a final four-game homestand. He said he felt fine after the first five innings of his return.

Four off days follow the Nationals’ final six games. They close the regular season at home Oct. 1 against the Pittsburgh Pirates. They open the National League Division Series at home on Oct. 6. Harper said he was thankful for the gap because it allows him a mental break, to spend time with his family, and, “I don’t have to see you guys or talk to you guys.” He found the last part funny.

This more jovial version of Harper has replaced the grumpy one that explained his stalled state a week after his injury. Washington’s trainers told Baker that Harper was “giddy” like a youngster about to make a Little League debut.

“He’s excited, we’re excited,” Baker said. “Just going to have to be his conscience for him. If I think he’s had enough or maybe needs more or whatever — just happy to have him back.”

Harper was hitting .326 with 29 home runs before he was injured, which was enough to make him considered among the leaders for the 2017 NL MVP award. He is expected to play a few innings, then come out, see how he feels the next day, and play more the next night. Baker has compared this final week to a truncated spring training for Harper.

The benefit of Harper’s return is a jolt that becomes difficult to overstate. The Nationals waded through much of the season without significant players, from Adam Eaton, to Trea Turner, to Jayson Werth and Harper. Only Eaton remains out. Harper bumps the lineup back to its maximum danger, solidifies the team’s outfield defense and clarifies the options on the bench for the postseason roster. He also shows up at a time when the defending World Series champion Chicago Cubs are lamenting their starting pitching and league-leading Los Angeles is still engorged by its late-season swoon.

Harper is back. October is coming up.