Phillies put Harper (elbow) on 10-day IL to start season

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Bryce Harper was placed on the 10-day injured list Thursday by the Philadelphia Phillies, who avoided the 60-day list for their star slugger and left open the opportunity that he could return before the end of May.

Dave Dombrowski, the Phillies president of baseball operations, said the timeline on Harper's return from reconstructive elbow surgery hasn't really changed. After Tommy John surgery in November, the National League champions said they expected their two-time NL MVP back in the lineup as their designated hitter by the All-Star break in July. If on the 60-day IL, he would have been out until at least May 29.

“We just continue to be hopeful. The good thing about it is that everything so far has been positive as far as his rehab is concerned,” Dombrowski said in the dugout before the season opener at Texas. “He feels good. The doctors, when they checked him out, said they feel good about him."

Harper was with the team in Texas for opening day, which came on the same day that first baseman Rhys Hoskins had surgery in nearby Fort Worth with Dr. Steve Singleton to repair a torn left ACL sustained in spring training on March 23. The Phillies said recovery time for Hoskins is seven-to-nine months.

Manager Rob Thomson said the surgery went extremely well. Hoskins took part in a team dinner with the Phillies after they arrived in Texas on Tuesday night, and he was at the ballpark on Wednesday.

Hoskins, who will miss the season, was put on the 60-day IL on Wednesday to make room on the 40-man roster when the Phillies acquired center fielder Cristian Pache from the Oakland Athletics. Pache is expected to join the team before the second game Saturday.

Harper is starting the fifth season of a $330 million, 13-year contract with the Phillies. He hasn’t played right field since last April 16, had a platelet-rich plasma injection on his elbow in May and became a full-time designated hitter to finish the season. He had Tommy John surgery in November after helping lead Philadelphia to its first World Series appearance since 2009.

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