By Anietie anii-bassey
Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Bryce Harper said Sunday he was still surprised that the club’s president of baseball operations, Dave Dombrowski, publicly questioned whether the two-time National League MVP remains an elite player.
Speaking to reporters, Harper described the situation as unexpected and out of step with the organization’s stated philosophy when he first joined the franchise.
“It’s kind of wild to me still,” Harper said. “I don’t get motivated by that kind of stuff. For me it was kind of wild the whole situation of that happening.”
Dombrowski made the comments in October while reviewing the Phillies’ season and postseason performance. At the time, he characterized Harper’s year as solid but short of the standard typically associated with one of baseball’s premier talents.
“Can he rise to the next level again? I don’t really know that answer,” Dombrowski said following the season. “He’s the one that will dictate that more than anything else. I don’t think he’s content with the year that he had. Again, it wasn’t a bad year. But when I think of Bryce Harper, you think elite, you think of one of the top-10 players in baseball and I don’t think it fit into that category.”
For Harper, the substance of the critique was less jarring than the decision to air it publicly.
“I think the big thing for me was when we first met with this organization it was, ‘Hey we’re always going to keep things in-house and we expect you to do the same thing,’” Harper said. “So when that didn’t happen it kind of took me for a run a little bit. I don’t know. It’s part of it, I guess. It was kind of a wild situation.”
Harper’s numbers in 2025 reflected a step back from his peak seasons. He posted an .844 OPS, his lowest since 2016, and batted .261, his lowest average since 2019. Over 27 home runs and 75 RBIs, he remained productive but not dominant by his own lofty standards.
In the postseason, the Phillies were eliminated in four games by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Division Series. Harper went 3 for 15 without an RBI in the series, a muted performance that mirrored the club’s abrupt October exit.
A wrist injury cost Harper roughly a month during the regular season, disrupting his rhythm and limiting his availability. Even so, he did not shy away from acknowledging that his production fell short of his expectations.
“Obviously, I didn’t have the year that I wanted,” Harper said. “Obviously, I don’t have a postseason I wanted. My numbers weren’t where they needed to be. I know that and I don’t need to be motivated to be great in my career or anything else. So that’s just not a motivating factor for me. For Dave to come out and say those things, it’s kind of wild to me still.”
Harper, 33, has six seasons remaining on the 13-year, $330 million contract he signed with Philadelphia in 2019, one of the largest deals in franchise history. Over 14 major league seasons — including seven with the Phillies — he has compiled a .280 batting average and 363 home runs, building a résumé that includes MVP awards in 2015 with Washington and 2021 with Philadelphia.
As recently as 2024, Harper finished sixth in NL MVP voting after hitting .280 with 30 home runs and 87 RBIs. He earned his fourth Silver Slugger Award and made his eighth All-Star appearance that season, reinforcing his status among the game’s most accomplished hitters.
Dombrowski’s evaluation suggested that while Harper remains a cornerstone of the franchise, the organization is looking for a return to the transcendent form that once placed him firmly among baseball’s top tier. Harper, for his part, maintains that his drive has never depended on outside commentary.
The exchange underscores the heightened expectations surrounding a veteran star still viewed as central to Philadelphia’s championship aspirations. With the new season approaching, the focus shifts from public remarks to on-field performance — and whether Harper can once again elevate his game to the level that defined the peak of his career.
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