Silver Slugger x3 !!! Congratulations to Bryce Harper on winning his 3rd Silver Slugger Award!

Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Bryce Harper won the Silver Slugger at designated hitter for the National League as results were announced on Thursday.

Harper spent most of his season at designated hitter, but also played at first base due to his recovery from Tommy John surgery. On Wednesday, Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said that the plan moving forward is for Harper to be the team’s first baseman.

This is his third Silver Slugger award. He won one in 2015 when he was in Washington and another in 2021 with Philadelphia. He was named National League MVP both of those seasons.

The Silver Slugger Awards are voted on by MLB managers and coaches and are given to the top offensive player at each position in each league. That includes three outfielders and one utility player in each league.

Going into 2023 it wasn’t clear how much Harper would be able to do as he had Tommy John surgery for a torn UCL in his right arm after last year’s World Series run. Harper ended up making a record recovery for a position player and began playing as a designated hitter.

Harper moved to first base after the All-Star break in an effort to get him in the field after his impressive recovery from surgery. Harper wasn’t well enough to make throws from the outfield. But he was capable of handling the fielding duties at first base.

He started slowly at the plate, but by season’s end he was producing the numbers that Phillies fans are used to seeing out of the two-time MVP.

Despite his injury rehab, he played in 126 games, slashed .293/.401/.499/.900 with 21 home runs and 72 RBI and helped the Phillies reach the NLCS.

With Harper now set at first base, it’s unlikely that free-agent first baseman Rhys Hoskins is coming back. Additionally, that decision, along with Dombrowski’s statement that Kyle Schwarber would likely DH the majority of the time next season, allows the Phillies to better work through their outfield options under contract — Nick Castellanos, Jake Cave, Brandon Marsh, Simon Muzziotti, Cristian Pache and Johan Rojas.