With the MLB season officially coming to a close, the offseason and all the drama that comes with it has arrived. In other words, the “Hot Stove” time of year. The Philadelphia Phillies took another early postseason exit this year, and changes will need to be made due to a statline of 3 for 35 during the NLDS from their top three guys in Bryce Harper, Trea Turner, and Kyle Schwarber, which is absolutely intolerable.
Dave Dombrowski took the podium by storm a couple of weeks ago, talking about how the Phillies fell short and debriefing on the season. He later snuck in some comments about Bryce Harper.
“I guess we only find out if he becomes elite [again] or he continues to be good… Can he ride to the next level again? I don’t really know that answer,” said Dombrowski while making public remarks at an MLB press conference.
No matter how much people want to include heartfelt emotions when arguing about the level of “Good” vs “Elite” and talking about the caliber of professional athletes, the only truth is reality. When talking about the caliber of professional athletes in the MLB, Bryce Harper fits into the category with the Mike Trouts and the Jose Altuves who may not be “Elite” anymore.
Harper did not take Dombrowski’s comments lightly. Back when he was with the Nationals, where his career started, he dealt with trade talk 24/7. The left-handed hitter had an OPS (on-base plus slugging) of (.844) in 2025, which is his worst OPS number since 2016. He said the comments left on the table left him “hurt,” but Dombrowski made it clear that he has no intentions on moving on from the 33 year old.
“That couldn’t be further from the truth,” Dombrowski said a little while back on Foul Territory when asked about the Harper trade rumors. “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.”
When you are paying a professional athlete to play for your team or club, the athlete in question has to obviously feel comfortable in the playing environment, especially when they are being paid $330 Million dollars over 13 years with a complete no-trade clause and a no opt-out clause. Back in the “Bedlam At The Bank” days, Harper definitely felt a lot more comfort, but now, not so much.
“I have given my all to Philly from the start,” Harper told The Athletic a few weeks ago. “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.”
At age 33, Harper definitely has some juice left in the tank. Will he use the juice or spend the other half of his career just being “Good”?
