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The Bryce Harper Overreactions are Really Bad
By Luke Arcaini
Published:
The Phillies were eliminated from the postseason and fell short of their ultimate goal for the fourth year in a row, but we’re starting to lose the plot.
Bryce Harper went 3 for 15 in four NLDS games vs. the Los Angeles Dodgers with three strikeouts and an OPS of just .600 through the series. It wasn’t a good series. If you don’t think Bryce Harper knows he didn’t play well enough, you’re crazy.
A WIP clip went viral on Tuesday afternoon, centered on Devan Kaney talking about Harper on the Midday Show with Joe Giglio and Hugh Douglas. The gist was that Harper is getting to the back-half of his career and is only getting older, and those two points aren’t wrong. Ruben Amaro Jr was also on WIP on Saturday morning with Kaney and talked about the possibility of the Phillies unloading a big contract:
This story is not a shot at Devan in the slightest, to be clear.
There have been a lot of tweets and conversations about the Phillies and what they need to do this offseason. For the first time in his Phillies career, it feels like more people are starting to turn a bit on Harper, and takes are floating around that they should trade the 2x MVP. That’s overreaction to a bad playoff series. The Phillies need to shake something up, no doubt. But the idea that shake up means trading the face of the franchise is a really, really bad idea.
Bryce Harper played 132 games in 2025, missing almost the entire month of June with right wrist inflammation. In the 132 games he played, he slashed .261/.357/.487 with an .844 OPS and a 3.2 WAR. Harper’s .844 OPS ranked 24th in all of baseball among qualified hitters in what most are calling a “down-year” for the Phillies star.
There have been some tweets that Harper hasn’t been the same the last few regular seasons, which also isn’t true:
- 2024 (145 Games): .285 average, .525 slugging percentage, .898 OPS, 4.8 WAR, 30 homers, 87 RBIs
- 2023 (126 Games) .293 average, .449 slugging percentage, .900 OPS, 3.7 WAR, 21 homers, 72 RBIs
I think people are starting to lose the plot. Yes, the Phillies lost to the Dodgers in the NLDS. It was pretty ugly baseball on the offensive side. Every single player on the Phillies roster knows the offense wasn’t good enough. But people are starting to look at Harper and think he “sucks” and is a “postseason choker” and “should be traded” because he’s getting older, which is just an asinine opinion and thought. Players age. Is Harper the player he was five years ago? Of course not, not many players that are 32 are better than they were five years ago.
Bryce Harper is a 2x MVP, 8x All-Star, a 4x Silver Slugger, and has won an NL MVP. He doesn’t have the trophy yet. It’s the last thing he needs to finish off his trophy case. Harper also completely changed the entire Philadelphia Phillies franchise when he signed his 13-year, $330M contract back in February of 2019.
Do you remember Phillies baseball before Bryce Harper? It was bad, like…really bad. Bryce Harper is one of the best baseball players in the history of this franchise. He loves playing in Philadelphia. He loves playing postseason baseball. Sometimes he doesn’t come through. That’s going to happen! Shohei Ohtani is currently 5 for 34 in the postseason with 15 strikeouts. He hit .230 in the 2024 postseason with 22 strikeouts in 61 at-bats, and the Dodgers won it all. Should the Dodgers trade him because he’s had some below average postseasons at the plate?
Bryce Harper has the highest postseason OPS in all of baseball since 2015 out of players with 100 plate appearances. This is when people get in the replies and say “show me the OPS from the start of the 2023 postseason!” Then they hear the answer is 1.024. For some reason, it’s hard for people to comprehend that players have bad playoff runs. It’s annoying, but it’s going to happen. That doesn’t mean those people don’t still have the right to be angry at the player or team; but the overreactions are getting a bit ridiculous.
The face of your franchise having a bad postseason run doesn’t mean you should look to trade him. In fact, that’s probably the last thing you should try and do. If anybody out there can put together a trade package that would ship Bryce Harper out and give the Phillies a better chance to win the World Series in 2026, I’m all ears…because I don’t think you can.
I understand you’re frustrated with the Phillies. You have every right to be. It’s four straight years of postseason baseball with no World Series trophy to show for it. But let’s not lose the plot here. Changes need to be made. I don’t think Nick Castellanos will be back next year. I think the team will shop Alec Bohm, and maybe gauge the market on Brandon Marsh. The outfield needs to look a lot different in 2026. They need more bullpen threats. There are plenty of changes to be made.
Trading Bryce Harper isn’t one of them. If you think it is, you’re absolutely wrong.
Luke Arcaini writes about the Phillies for Crossing Broad, covers the Phillies for FOX Sports The Gambler, and co-hosts "Phillies Digest" on YouTube. The wave is the worst thing in all of sports. Contact: lukearcaini8@gmail.com