Phillies President Makes Feelings on Bryce Harper Trade Rumors Perfectly Clear
Bryce Harper just wrapped his seventh season with the Phillies and 14th MLB season overall, hitting .261/.357/.487 with 27 home runs and 75 RBIs. It was a strong season, but his 3.2 WAR was his lowest mark for a year in which he played at least 100 games since 2018.
It is reasonable to believe that Harper is on the downswing of his career, but even so, it was surprising to hear Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski appear to indicate that he no longer believes that Harper is an "elite" player.
"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 like he has had in the past," said Dombrowski last Thursday. "I guess we only find out if he becomes elite [again] or he continues to be good. You look around the league, you try to think Freddie Freeman. He's a really good player, he still is a good player. Is he elite like he was before? Probably not to the same extent so that's nothing negative. Freddie's still a tremendous player. That to me is Bryce."
Dombrowski's comments made waves within the world of Philly sports, even helping give rise to some rumors that Philadelphia could look to move the two-time National League MVP. Appearing on , he sought to clarify his Harper comments, while shooting down the bourgeoning trade rumors before they break contain.
"First of all, to me, Bryce Harper's one of the best players in the game of baseball. They asked me, 'What type of year do you think he had?' And I said, 'He had a very good year, I don't think he had an elite year.' And when I say that, when I think of Bryce Harper, it's a compliment, because the reality is there are eight, 10 players in the game of baseball every year, when they're not in the MVP consideration… it's not an elite year for them.
"So the reality is, he's a great player, he's a future Hall of Famer. … Now I've been reading that, . That couldn't be farther from the truth. 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.”
Dombrowski went on to riff about comments that Phillies legend Mike Schmidt made on the podcast about another of the team's 32-year-old stars, Kyle Schwarber, and the importance for players of that age to keep up a strong training regimen through the offseason. Dombrowski says he has no doubts that Harper will be one of the players who will age gracefully because of his talent and work ethic.
"I'll take my chances with Bryce more than most, because Bryce is an elite talent… I think it's a shame where this has gone. It wasn't meant to be a criticism."
Harper just crossed the midway point of the mammoth 13-year, $330 million deal he signed with Philadelphia, and is still owed nearly $153 million through 2031. Removing the human element from it, if the Phillies believe they'll get diminishing returns from Harper as he enters his mid-30s, it makes sense for them to consider a trade. It doesn't sound as if Dombrowski is near that point yet, however, despite how it may have sounded a week ago.