3:15pm: Harper spoke with Matt Gelb of The Athletic about his feelings on the situation, with Gelb describing Harper as “Confused and upset.”
“I gave everything I had to Philadelphia from the beginning,” Harper told Gelb. “Now there are trade talks? I did everything I could to avoid that. That’s all I heard in Washington (with the Nationals). I hate it. It makes me uncomfortable.”
Harper went on to note that neither Dombrowski or Phillies managing partner John Middleton had heard from him since the end of the season, describing Dombrowski’s comments as “Disappointing.” Harper emphasized in his comments to Gelb that he decided not to negotiate an opt-out clause in his contract because he wanted to show a commitment to Philadelphia.
This certainly makes it seem like Harper has no intention of abandoning his no-trade clause even amid current rumors, and he’s expressing frustration with looming trade talks given the current circumstances. “Full Commitment” He showed the team his ability to move to first base and return from injuries early.
9:33 am: During last week’s season-ending press conference with the media, including MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki, Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski described Bryce HarperThe 2025 campaign isn’t just about “An elite season like his past” and expressed some vague uncertainty about whether Harper would be able to become an MVP-level star again. While it wasn’t really a criticism of Harper, Dombrowski’s comments caused some buzz, as Jon Heyman of the New York Post heard that Harper was “angry,” in the words of “someone with ties to Philadelphia.”
Over the past two days, Dombrowski has been downplaying suggestions that the club is unhappy with Harper or that the two-time NFC MVP may be nearing the end of his time in Philadelphia. Simply put, the executive told the New York Post on the phone, “Bryce Harper will not be traded. He’s a great player. He is a future Hall of Famer. He is the cornerstone of our team and we hope he will be with us for the long term“.
Dombrowski said he has not spoken to Harper since the press conference but may do so to clarify matters further, noting again that he did not consider his remarks an insult. Returning to Dombrowski’s original remarks at the press conference, the Office of Public Budget said it continues to work with Harper, “I guess we’ll just know if he becomes elite or if he continues to excel. If you look around the league, I think…freddie freeman: He’s a very good player, right? He’s still a good player. Is he still as elite as before? Probably not to the same extent yet. Freddie is a great player and to me, that’s Bryce. Can he rise to the next level again? I really don’t know the answer to this. He is the one who can best decide this.
“I don’t think he’s happy with the year he’s had. Again, it’s not a bad year. But when you think of Bryce Harper, you think elite, right? You think of one of the top 10 players in baseball, and I don’t think he’s in that category. But again, he’s a very good player. I’ve seen players his age — again, he’s not old — get to that level. Or I’ve seen players rise again.“.
In 2025, Harper appeared in over 580 games, hitting .261/.357/.487 with 27 homers. That translates into a 131 wRC+, the fifth-lowest mark of Harper’s 14-year major league career. Of course, the fact that 131 wRC+ was a down year for Harper is a testament to his high level of play, with only 24 qualified hitters in baseball surpassing 131 wRC+ this season. From an fWAR perspective, Harper’s total of 3.5 ranks tied for 45th among all qualified hitters.
In an interview with “Dirty Territory” on Thursday, Dombrowski said he viewed his comments about Harper’s season as “a compliment”, considering the 3.5 fWAR/131 wRC+ campaign will be a career highlight for many players.
“The reality is that every year there are 8 to 10 players in baseball who don’t get into MVP consideration for one reason or another – sometimes it can be injury factors, sometimes they just have a bad year – but regardless, it’s not an elite year for them… Now I keep reading, “Oh, the Phillies might trade Bryce Harper.” That couldn’t be further from the truth. We love him. We think he’s a great player. He is a very important part of our team. I’ve seen him have better years. I hope he has better years ahead“.
Harper turned 33 last week, and Dombrowski admitted there are natural concerns for any player as he enters his 30s. However, those aging issues are baked into the fact that the Phillies signed Harper to a 13-year, $33MM contract. As Dombrowski said in Foul Territory, when it comes to measuring a player’s performance into their 30s, “I’m more willing to take a chance on Bryce than most because Bryce is an elite talent. He’s a very, very talented guy and he’s very driven.“.
Harper has battled a number of injuries throughout his career, including wrist inflammation that kept him sidelined for much of June. Dombrowski told The Washington Post that Harper’s wrist issue is a factor affecting his 2025 season, though the PBO did not mention the injury in its press conference.
Harper’s agent, Scott Boras, told Zolecki earlier this week, “very surprisedDombrowski didn’t initially acknowledge the wrist issue but had no problem with the executive’s comments. What Boras would like to see is more roster protection for Harper in 2026, as the agent noted that Harper has pitched in the zone only 43 percent of the time this season. Harper has primarily played third in Philadelphia’s lineup, Trey Turner Usually hits first baseman and slugger Kyle Schwarber Serves as the primary No. 2 hitter. Most of the Phillies’ cleanup at-bats went Nick Castellanos and JT Realmutoboth have below-average playing years (Castellanos at 90 wRC+, Realmuto at 94 wRC+).
Dombrowski perhaps said it best,”This thing has a life of its own,” in terms of how his comments during the press conference became a talking point. Dombrowski didn’t say anything untrue about Harper’s season, and it’s only natural that a rival like Harper would bristle at any idea that he’s no longer one of baseball’s top players.
Harper is now halfway through his massive 13-year contract and is still owed $144MM over the final six seasons of the deal. It was just less than two years ago that Harper and Boras floated the idea of extensions, though there seemed to be no progress on that front, which is understandable as the Phillies may have felt no urgency or need to re-sign a player who was already locked into his age-38 season.
In terms of trade possibilities, Harper has a full no-trade clause and will likely reconsider extending his contract as a condition of accepting a deal. However, while Dombrowski’s share of blockbuster trades has changed in the past, there’s no reason to doubt Harper is a trade candidate this winter or in the foreseeable future. The Phillies are clearly in winning mode, and if Schwarber and/or Realmuto leave in free agency this winter, Harper’s importance to the lineup will become even greater.
