Bryce Harper Had A Third Of His Blood Removed Then Put Back In (Which Is Good)

It's been an interesting offseason for Philadelphia Phillies star Bryce Harper.

He grew a mustache and… well, that's about it, but the bit of offseason maintenance he shared on Instagram this week really got people talking.

Why? Because it involved having a third of his blood removed from his body.

Now, I'm no doctor, but I was under the impression that the goal typically is to keep your blood inside your body. Out of it, it just doesn't work as a wall.

But elite athletes like Harper are usually privy to all kinds of cutting-edge therapies and treatments like this one.

Harper shared a photo on his Instagram page showing him hooked up to some kind of machine.

"EBOO (Extracorporeal Blood Oxygenation and Ozonation) is a procedure in which 1/3 of your blood is drawn from your body, passed through a filtration and ozonation device, and then returned to your bloodstream," the Phillies star wrote.

Man, I was sweating it a little until I got to the part where the machine returns your blood.

"(The machine) circulates your blood outside your body, exposes the blood to ozone (O₃), and will oxygenate or filter the blood before returning it to you."

Alright, whatever floats your boat and ozonates your blood

Some people get a little queasy or lightheaded when it comes to needles or having blood drawn. I'm usually pretty good if I look away, and I'm extra good if there's a cookie or a Dum Dums-brand lollipop in it for me when we're done.

I don't know if I could do that treatment, knowing some of my blood is just passing through a machine. What if someone trips and knocks it over and dumps my blood all over the place?

I'd be super bummed. Hopefully, everyone's careful walking around that thing.

But Harper seems fired up about it, and maybe it'll pay dividends when the MLB season gets underway next spring.