Bryce Harper recorded only three hits in four postseason games this year. The Philadelphia Phillies star first baseman posted an .844 regular-season OPS, his lowest since 2016 when he was with the Washington Nationals.
He turned 33 Thursday, the same day the Phillies held their end-of-season news conference.
Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski was asked why he believes Harper’s 2025 season was a down year and not the start of the two-time NL MVP’s decline.
Dombrowski, in a pivotal offseason after Philadelphia’s second straight NL East title was followed by a second straight early playoff exit, didn’t offer a convincing answer.
“He’s still an All-Star-caliber player. He didn’t have an elite season like he has had in the past,” Dombrowski said. “And I guess we only find out if he becomes elite or he continues to be good.”
Dombrowski then provided an example. He brought up Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman, who has made nine All-Star teams, won two World Series and earned one NL MVP during his illustrious career with the Atlanta Braves and Dodgers.
“He still is a good player. Is he elite like he was before? Probably not to the same extent. And so that’s nothing negative. Freddie’s a tremendous player, and that, to me, is Bryce,” Dombrowski continued.
“Can he rise to the next level again? I don’t really know that answer. I mean, really, he’s the one that will dictate that more than anything else, is what it comes down to.
“I don’t think he’s content with the year that he had. And, again, it wasn’t a bad year, but when I think of Bryce Harper, you’re thinking elite, you’re thinking one of the top 10 players in baseball, and I don’t think [his 2025 season] fit into that category. But, again, very good player.”
Dombrowski added: “I have no idea. … I have seen guys at his age — again, he’s not old — that level off, or I’ve seen guys rise again. We’ll see what happens.”
Dombrowkski has to determine if he wants to run things back with the same core, make over the roster or settle somewhere in between. He’s got key free agents to either try to sign or let walk.
Harper, on the other hand, is under contract with the Phillies through the 2031 season. He’s not going anywhere.
But Dombrowski could be challenging Harper with his comments Thursday, which didn’t endorse the eight-time All-Star as the franchise icon he’s paid to be and has proven to be at points of his seven-season stay in Philadelphia.
Can Bryce Harper get back to playing an an elite level after a relatively down 2025 season? The Phillies are about to find out. (Photo by Rob Tringali/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
(Rob Tringali via Getty Images)
Manager Rob Thomson, whom the Phillies retained after losing to the Dodgers in four games of a disappointing and head-scratching NLDS, is confident Harper will come roaring back next season.
“I think he’s highly motivated to have the best season of his career next year,” Thomson said. “That’s what the plan’s going to be for him.”
Thomson took over as manager in June 2022 before leading a World Series run that marked the first of four consecutive postseason trips. He acknowledged that Harper’s numbers were down in 2025, but he wasn’t as critical of them as Dombrowski.
In fact, Thomson called them “pretty good,” noting that Harper hit 27 home runs in 132 games.
“He hasn’t told me this, but that type of person, and I’ve seen it before where they’ve had bad years,” Thomson said, “they go like gangbusters during the offseason to get better because they want to get back to where they normally are at.
“I think that’s just Harp’s mindset. I think that’s what he’s going to do.”
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