Phillies icon Rollins has guided Harper through injury funk

Philadelphia Phillies icon Jimmy Rollins has been helping Bryce Harper work through his injury funk and new DH role.

Harper, who has been DHing for the majority of this season due to a tear in his ulnar collateral ligament, admitted he's struggled with his new place on the team.

"I want to throw again. I want to get back out there. I want to play. I love playing the game, being part of the team, right? But I had to be part of the team in a different way," Harper said, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. "I couldn’t really wrap my head around that, not being able to be out there."

Rollins has helped quiet the 29-year-old star's concerns over potentially taking at-bats away from teammates and his frustration with being unable to play the field.

"No one is saying anything about you in here," Rollins advised Harper, per Rosenthal. "You've already got their respect. You're good. They know."

Rollins also aided the reigning NL MVP's approach at the plate, as Harper felt he needed to do more in his limited role.

"It's not like because you're DHing, you're automatically going to bat 1000," Rollins said. "That just doesn't happen."

Rollins explained that Harper "just needed to be reminded how good he was."

Harper is batting .303 with a .943 OPS. He's also added 10 home runs and 32 RBIs.

He's not expected to return to right field until later this summer at the earliest. In May, it was recommended Harper not throw for another six weeks; he will have to partake in a throwing program in order to fully return.

Meanwhile, Harper was scratched from Wednesday's game against the San Francisco Giants due to right forearm tightness. The Phillies are off to a 22-29 start and fired manager Joe Girardi on Friday.