It’s been nine days since Dave Dombrowski wondered aloud about whether Bryce Harper could return to an elite level after a so-so season by Harper’s standards, and the fallout has ranged from absurd to puzzling. The Phillies were not trying to signal an intention to trade Harper, but that’s how some corners of the baseball world interpreted it. It fueled sports-talk and social-media speculation.
The whole ordeal has confused and upset Harper.
“I have given my all to Philly from the start,” Harper told The Athletic on Saturday. “Now there is trade talk? I made every effort to avoid this. It’s all I heard in D.C. (with the Nationals). I hated it. It makes me feel uncomfortable.”
Harper said he was hurt by Dombrowski’s original comments, which were made at his end-of-season media availability. The Phillies’ president of baseball operations has since said he was not challenging Harper.
“This thing’s got a life of its own,” Dombrowski said during an appearance this week on “Foul Territory.” “Now I’ve been reading that, ‘Oh, the Phillies may trade Bryce Harper.’ That couldn’t be further from the truth. We love him. We think he’s a great player. He’s a very important part of our team. I’ve seen him have better years. I look for him to have better years.”
“I’ve been reading that the Phillies may trade Bryce Harper. That couldn’t be further from the truth.”
Dave Dombrowski says Bryce Harper is an elite talent, and his comments weren’t meant to be criticism. pic.twitter.com/HMJY6TjPsv
— Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) October 23, 2025
Dombrowski, one of the few people in the organization who could offer Harper criticism without reproach, might have been looking to motivate his star player through his original comments. In the past, that might have happened in private. Harper said he hasn’t heard from either Dombrowski or Phillies managing partner John Middleton since the season ended.
Harper, who turned 33 on the day of Dombrowski’s original comments and is signed through 2031, posted an .844 OPS in 2025. It was his lowest mark since 2016. It still ranked 22nd among 145 qualified batters in the major leagues.
He hit 27 homers in 132 games this season. He missed time with a nagging right wrist injury.
“All players get hurt,” Harper said Saturday. “I hurt my wrist this year and missed a month. Of course I don’t have full-year numbers.
“It’s disappointing to hear me being questioned about my contribution to the team. Just really hurt by that notion because I love Philly so much.”
Harper, who has 10-and-5 rights that give him a full no-trade clause, did not negotiate an opt-out clause into his 13-year, $330 million deal with the Phillies, which he signed before the 2019 season. His agent, Scott Boras, did not agree with that decision. Harper’s camp has since expressed a desire to extend the original deal, but the Phillies are under no obligation to amend the contract.
Harper has said the lack of an opt-out was an important distinction to make. This is another reason why the recent talk has bothered him.
“I wanted these fans to know Philly is my home, so from the start, I made the commitment to stay here for the rest of my career,” Harper said Saturday. “No opt-out, even though I was advised otherwise. I trust John.”
Dombrowski was asked during his season postmortem news conference why the club believed Harper’s season was only a down year and not the beginning of a downward trend.
“Of course, he’s still a quality player,” Dombrowski said Oct. 16. “He’s still an All-Star caliber player. He didn’t have an elite season like he has had in the past. And I guess we only find out if he becomes elite or if he continues to be good. I look around the league … Freddie Freeman. He’s a really good player, right? He still is a good player. Is he elite like he was before? Probably not to the same extent. Freddie’s a tremendous player. And, that to me, is Bryce. Can he rise to the next level again? I don’t really know that answer.
“Really, he’s the one who will dictate that more than anything else. That’s what it comes down to. So I don’t think he’s content with the year that he had. And, again, it wasn’t a bad year. But when I think of Bryce Harper, you’re thinking elite, right? You’re thinking of one of the top 10 players in baseball, and I don’t think it fit into that category. But, again, a very good player. I have no idea. I’ve seen guys at his age — again he’s not old — that level off. Or I’ve seen guys rise again. We’ll see what happens.”
Harper, as he said after the Phillies’ loss to the Dodgers in the National League Division Series, expects better from himself. A bad season, by Harper’s standards, is just that for now.
What’s clear is Harper is upset by Dombrowski’s public questioning — or at least the speculation that stemmed from those candid comments.
“From changing positions to coming back early from injury, I show total commitment for my team,” Harper said. “And yet there is still trade talk.”
