Source: Washington Post

It has been two weeks and one day since Bryce Harper did not start for the only game of his major league tenure, when Davey Johnson rested Harper against the Red Sox because of a sore back.

Nothing would indicate his back is acting up again — Harper is hitting .298/.377/.426 since. And his back looked fine yesterday on that ridiculous double, when he hit a chopper up the middle, never stopped around first dove headfirst into second base.

But, like pretty much every player around the league in late June, Harper is still dealing with soreness that requires regular attention. Johnson said Harper still gets treatment on his back on a daily basis, including trainers using tape on his lower back to ease tension.

"I've seen him with all kinds of contraptions on there," Johnson said. "I don't know who's dreaming them up. But right now, it's more preventative. Anybody who plays as hard as he does, he's been running the bases quite a bit, sliding in head first. As long as he doesn't aggravate it, but he's taking good care of it."

Continue Reading...