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Laying Out Some Bullet Points from the Lingering Dave Dombrowski and Bryce Harper Dispute, Because “More than One Thing Can Be True”
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Alright, let’s continue our litigation of the the Bryce Harper and Dave Dombrowski “not elite” thing, picking up the story with Bryce’s first media gaggle comments since the end of last season:
“I don’t need motivated by that kind of stuff. For me, it was kind of wild, the whole situation, that happening. I think 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.’ When that didn’t happen it kind of took me for a run a little bit. I don’t know, it’s part of it I guess. It was kind of a wild situation, that even happening. Obviously I didn’t have the year that I wanted, obviously I didn’t have the postseason I wanted. 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 was kind of wild to me still.”
Before we get any further, let’s review what Dombo said at the end of the season:
“Of course, (Bryce Harper is) 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. I guess we only find out if he becomes elite or if he continues to be good.
I look around the league. Freddie Freeman – he’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. Freddie’s a tremendous player. And, that to me, is Bryce. Can he rise to the next level again? I don’t really know that answer.
He’s the one who will dictate that more than anything else. That’s 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, right? You’re thinking of one of the top 10 players in baseball, and I don’t think it fit into that category. But, again, a very good player. I have no idea. I’ve 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.”
Now, having collected all of the information, some bullet points, since we foundationally believe in the philosophy that more than one thing can be true:
- Dombrowski probably shouldn’t have said what he said.
- Dombrowski spoke only facts. He did not say anything that was false.
- It sounds like Bryce is still irked and he needs to get over it.
Starting with #1, you have to ask yourself about the upside of a comment like that. Does a competitor like Bryce Harper need motivation? We surmised that he does not, and he says he does not. Nonetheless, he made himself a “not elite” t-shirt and wore it while hitting baseballs inside of a cage, so whether or not Dombrowski was trying to light a fire there, it seems like there’s a lingering “I’m gonna prove you wrong” thing going on here even though Bryce claims he’s not motivated by disrespect.
Bullet point #2 – nothing but facts. Bryce agrees, because he says “I didn’t have the year that I wanted.” He was good in 2025 but he was not 2021 or 2024 Bryce Harper. He also dealt with injury, which people conveniently seem to forget when talking about this. There was the elbow issue in May and then the wrist inflammation that caused discomfort even before he went on the IL in June. Part of the reason he was “not elite” is because he wasn’t 100% healthy.
#3 – Bryce seems less annoyed with what Dombo said and more annoyed with the fact that he said it all, as he talks about the organizational policy to “keep things in house.” It’s a broken trust issue. For what it’s worth, Dombrowski was not the player personnel executive when Harper signed here, so he was not in Philly when Bryce “first met with this organization.” But Dombrowski is a veteran baseball executive and has to know that the upside to public criticism, even light, is very little. Why? Well look at the fallout, which certainly is not all Dombrowski’s fault. Bryce came out afterward and told Matt Gelb he was hurt by ridiculous trade speculation that was generated by fans and media and had absolutely nothing to do with Dombrowski. Dombo even went on Foul Territory and said the Phils have no intention of trading Harper, who has a full no-trade clause anyway. There were reports that the two had a conversation and smoothed things over, and the only reason it came up again is because this was the first time the media has been able to speak to Harper as a group since the kerfuffle went down. All of the previous comments were from individual outlets, podcasts, Tik Tok channels, or what have you.
So bullet point #4 I guess is that we should all move on, and now we can since we’ve completed the media cycle.
In summary, Dombrowski said some stuff that was true, but probably could have kept it in house because it compromised trust between himself and one of his top players. Regardless, Bryce seems motivated, whether it was a result of the quote or not.
Go Phils.
Kevin has been writing about Philadelphia sports since 2009. He spent seven years in the CBS 3 sports department and started with the Union during the team's 2010 inaugural season. He went to the academic powerhouses of Boyertown High School and West Virginia University. email - k.kinkead@sportradar.com