Bryce Harper Is Still Grouchy About Dave Dombrowski’s Loose Ponderings

Is this the year when the good times finally end for the Philadelphia Phillies? Probably not. They've got stars all over the damn place, and to judge from years of vitriol you have to assume that by jettisoning Nick Castellanos, the Phillies have banked another 20 wins, easily. The loss of Ranger Suárez stings, I'm sure, but the Phillies still go at least six deep in trustworthy starting pitchers. Barring several disasters, the Phillies will contend for the crown of the punishing NL East.

Still, at the start of spring training, this does not quite seem like the happy bunch of years past. Even if Castellanos's teammates are largely glad to be rid of his Bluetooth speaker and dugout brewskis, the circumstances of his departure are grody, and hint at a clubhouse culture vulnerable to idiosyncrasy and maybe a little pricklier and less relenting than you'd expect, given a team aesthetic that suggests a state university's very least reputable fraternity. Then there was the unexpected and somewhat ill-advised commentary of team president Dave Dombrowski, who pondered aloud in October whether Bryce Harper can be an elite player down the back stretch of the 13-year contract he signed with the club back in 2019. Harper had a down year in 2025, but only by his own standards: Despite struggling with a wrist injury, Harper finished in the league's 89th percentile in batting value, per Statcast. Dombrowski turned contemplative at the team's end-of-season presser, and seemed to express some doubt about Harper's value and longevity.

"In Bryce's case, of course he's still a quality player, he's still an All Star-caliber player. He didn't have an elite season as he's had in the past, and I guess we only find out if he becomes elite or he continues to be good," said Dombrowski, in response to what turned out to be a very good prompt to explain how he evaluates Harper's 2025 performance and sets expectations for his star first-baseman's future. "It's not like he's—if you say to me, I look around the league, I was trying to think: Freddie Freeman. That'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. So that's nothing negative, because Freddie is a tremendous player, and that to me is Bryce. Can he rise to the next level again? I don't really know that answer. And really he's the one that will dictate that, more than anything else, is what it comes down to.