Bryce Harper Reacts to Dombrowski’s Comments on His Performance
Bryce Harper isn’t letting Dave Dombrowski’s assessment of his last season’s performance drive him for 2026. However, the Phillies first baseman found it quite “insane” that the team’s president publicly stated last October that Harper wasn’t “elite” during the season.
“Things like that don’t motivate me. Honestly, the whole scenario was a bit wild,” Harper shared with reporters at the Phillies’ training camp in Clearwater. “When I first connected with this organization, they told me, ‘We’re going to keep things internal, and we expect you to do the same.’ So when that didn’t happen, it felt a bit off. I guess that’s just part of it. It was quite a situation in several ways.”
Harper, who has six years left on a hefty 13-year contract worth $330 million, recorded 27 home runs, 75 RBIs, and an .844 OPS—his lowest since 2016—over 580 at-bats last season.
After an underwhelming performance where he went 3-for-15 with no RBIs in a four-game loss to the Dodgers in the National League District Series, Dombrowski described Harper’s 2025 season as lacking.
“Can he get back to that level? Honestly, I don’t know,” Dombrowski remarked. “He decides that more than anyone. I doubt he’s satisfied with how his year turned out.”
“This wasn’t a bad year,” Dombrowski continued, “but when thinking of Bryce Harper, you see an elite player, someone in the top 10 in baseball, and I just don’t think he’s in that category right now.”
Harper acknowledged on Sunday, “Certainly, we didn’t have the year or postseason we aimed for.” He had missed about a month last season due to a wrist injury.
“My stats weren’t where they should be,” he admitted. “I recognize that and I don’t really need external motivation to excel in my career or anything. It’s still pretty wild for Dave to say something like that.”
At 33 years old, Harper holds a career batting average of .280, with 363 home runs and a .905 OPS, spanning 14 seasons in MLB—seven with the Nationals and the last seven with the Phillies.
