Bryce Harper out of Thursday’s lineup vs. the Padres, hoping to return Friday against the Dodgers – The Philadelphia Inquirer

Bryce Harper was out of the Phillies lineup for the fourth straight game on Thursday after receiving a PRP injection on Sunday at the Kerlan-Jobe Institute. Phillies manager Joe Girardi said that Harper still feels sore, and that the team will take it day-by-day. Their hope is that he’ll be ready to return on Friday, for the first game of a three-game series at home against the Dodgers.

Harper hasn’t been doing much baseball activity since he received his injection, but he took some swings on Wednesday and will take more today. Girardi said that if Harper’s soreness dissipates by Friday, he’ll be ready to enter a game.

» READ MORE: Harper likely to remain a DH until at least after the All-Star break

Shortstop Didi Gregorius, who is currently on the injured list retroactive to May 5 with a left knee sprain, has been making progress, according to Girardi. There’s still no timeline for Gregorius, Girardi said, but he said Gregorius is taking ground balls, hitting, and moving around better than he has been.

Centerfielder Mickey Moniak, who is currently on the 10-day injured list with a broken right hand, is in extended spring training Thursday and will start a rehab assignment in Clearwater, Fla., on Friday, according to Girardi. The Phillies manager says that it’ll likely still be a while until Moniak joins the big league club.

» READ MORE: Zack Wheeler leads Phillies past Padres, 3-0

“He’s been out a while, so, playing defense, his arm, getting at-bats, it’s been how many weeks, five? So it’ll take a while,” Girardi said.

Phillies starter Zach Eflin is in his seventh big-league season but will be experiencing a first later this month as he attends his own arbitration case in Atlanta. Eflin said the case will take place either May 23 or 24. Of the Phillies’ three arbitration-eligible players, Eflin is the only one that the team wasn’t able to agree to terms with. The two parties exchanged salary figures in March, which revealed a significant disparity: Eflin is asking for $6.9 million and the Phillies want to pay him $5.15 million.

» READ MORE: Zach Eflin kept his arm fresh by playing catch with his wife

Eflin says that he feels it’s important to be informed, and is excited to see the other side of the industry.

“You can’t really hide anything in court, right, so I’m excited to see our side of how we do things and their side of how they do things, and how they view me as a player and as a person,” he said. “I’ve talked to a lot of people about it. It’s not really the greatest thing to happen but I come at it from a good mental place, and I am genuinely excited to see what happens there, and see how they view things, and see the true business side of baseball, because I’m curious about that aspect of the game. I’m not really going into it nervous or anything, I’m excited to see what happens.”