Bryce Harper reflects on Dave Dombrowski’s ‘not elite’ comment: ‘It was wild’

Bryce Harper‘s 2025 season was not up to Bryce Harper’s standard. Though wrist injuries lingered all season and sidelined the 33-year-old for almost all of June, Phillies President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski’s comment at the season’s end still startled him.

“For me, it was wild, the whole situation of that happening,” Harper said on Sunday in Clearwater, Fla.

Dombrowski called Harper a quality player with a negative connotation when he reflected on his season following the Phillies’ elimination at the end-of-season press conference.

“[Harper’s] still a quality player,” Dombrowski said on October 16. “He’s still an All-Star-caliber player. He didn’t have an elite season like he’s had in the past. I guess we only find out if he becomes elite or he continues to be good. Can he rise to the next level again? I don’t really know that answer. He’s the one that will dictate that more than anything else. I don’t think he’s content with the year that he had. Again, it wasn’t a bad year. But when I think of Bryce Harper, you think elite, you think of one of the top-10 players in baseball, and I don’t think it fit into that category.”

In December, Harper was seen sporting a black long-sleeve t-shirt that said “Not Elite” across the chest while taking some hacks in the cage. It seemed as if Harper was turning the negativity into some motivation. The future Hall of Famer shut that down.

“I don’t get motivated by that kind of stuff,” Harper said. “I mean, they made the shirts for me, and I wore them. If they’re going to make them, I’m going to wear them.”

Bryce Harper taking swings in a shirt that says, “not elite.”

The league is in danger. #Phillies pic.twitter.com/M3FF4KW082

— Philly Sports Reports (@PhlySprtsReprts) December 27, 2025

Harper rather revolved Dombrowki’s statement into a look back at the organization. His stunned reaction stems from the standard he felt was set when he signed his, at the time, record-breaking 13-year, $330 million contract in 2019.

“The big thing for me was, when we first met with this organization, it was, ‘Hey, we’re always going to keep things in-house, and we expect you to do the same thing.’ So, when that didn’t happen, it kind of took me for a run a little bit.”

Harper posted a .261 average with a .844 OPS in 2025, the second-lowest of his career, clubbing 27 home runs and 75 RBI in 501 at-bats. All were well below Harper’s career norms as he enters the back half of his contract.

“Obviously, I didn’t have the year I wanted. Obviously, I didn’t have the postseason I wanted,” Harper said. “My numbers weren’t where they needed to be. I know that. And I don’t need to be motivated to be great in my career or anything else. That’s just not a motivating factor for me. For Dave to come out and say those things, it’s kind of wild.”

Dombrowski’s remarks are going to linger. It was a comment that typically stays behind closed doors. It stands as a backhanded slap at Harper, whose initial ideal of the club was that these sorts of statements were not voiced publicly. Maybe those norms have shifted.

“My locker is always open for them to come and talk to me,” Harper said, “and vice versa.”

Harper’s numbers in 2025 may have been inferior due to a lack of a solidified hitter behind him. Batters in the cleanup spot for Philadelphia posted a .720 OPS last season, which ranked 20th in MLB. Harper also saw the lowest percentage of pitches in the zone among MLB hitters. However, his 35.6% chase rate, up 2.4 points from 2024, did not help. The Phillies did not make a significant move to support the cleanup position.

“I think it’s a huge impact in the four spot,” Harper said. “I think the numbers in the four spot weren’t very good last year for our whole team. Whoever is in that four spot is going to have a big job to do, depending on who’s hitting three.”

But before the Phils dish out their first lineup card of 2026 on March 26 at Citizens Bank Park and we see who will fill that “big job,” Harper will put on the red, white, and blue for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic.

“I can’t wait to represent your country. There’s nothing better… the feeling of putting USA on your chest and playing for something so much bigger than yourself,” Harper said. “And having Aaron Judge hit behind me is going to be a lot of fun as well.”

Harper said that playing the tournament, which begins the first week of March, will also tune him up for the regular season. Harper has not played 150 games in a season since his first year with the Phillies in 2019. Harper ramped up earlier than usual this offseason with the World Baseball Classic requiring a briefer Spring Training. His goal is to stay on the field in 2026.

“I love being part of the culture and the group of Philly baseball and things like that. I don’t want that to ever not be the notion,” Harper said. “Obviously, I don’t smile all the time or I don’t laugh all the time. But I enjoy playing this game. And so I think [the World Baseball Classic] is just something that is going to be really exciting. Being able to take a step back and act like you are 16, 17, 18 years old again, playing with your buddies.”

Harper’s formula is not a mystery: better protection in the four spot, which leads to fewer pitches off the plate, and could end with more time on the field. Harper gets a preview of that in the World Baseball Classic with Judge behind him. If the Phillies can replicate even a fraction of that support, and Harper does the rest, the “not elite” discussion will resolve itself.

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