“Wildest thing to say” “He’s not wrong” - Fans split as Phillies president shades Bryce Harper in Dodgers $162M star comparison

The Philadelphia Phillies made a disappointing exit from the postseason after their defeat against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Division Series.

One of the concerning aspects of their season was two-time MVP Bryce Harper's underwhelming performance at the plate. Harper finished with the lowest OPS since 2016 and the lowest batting average since 2019.

Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski compared Harper to Dodgers $162M star Freddie Freeman in a press conference on Thursday, doubting if the Phillies star could ever get back to his best.

"I guess we only find out if he becomes elite [again] or he continues to be good...Can he rise to the next level again? I don't really know that answer," Dombrowski said.

Fans reacted to the Phillies president's statement about Harper's slump.

"He's not wrong."

"This is the wildest thing to say. Out of all the people on that team Harper is like bar the bottom of players who need to be criticized. What an odd route to take as a GM."

"We just going to forget about the wrist injury that plagued him all season?"

"Throwing down the guantlett! Maybe Bryce can work off that chip on his shoulder he has had since they told him they weren’t going to redo his contract."

"Maybe Bryce can be like Baker and use this as offseason ammo to become elite again."

"Idk if Bryce will ever return to being an elite player but I do know that Dave Dombrowski will never return to being an elite executive."

Phillies president doubts Bryce Harper's place in top 10 players in baseball

Bryce Harper turned 33 this week and has six years remaining on his $330 million, 13-year deal. Dave Dombrowski said the Phillies star wasn't content with his season, and it will depend on him if he can be elite again.

“He's the one that will dictate that more than anything else," Dombrowski said. "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.”

Meanwhile, the Phillies president confirmed that manager Rob Thomson will be returning to manage the team next season. Thomson had one year remaining on his deal and could sign an extension next season.

About the author

Chaitanya Prakash is an editor who covers US Sports at Sportskeeda. His first brush with sportswriting was in 2012 when the greatest football manager of all time, Sir Alex Ferguson, bid farewell to the beautiful game.

Although having started out professionally as a cricket writer in 2022, Chaitanya's curiosity and indiscriminate interest in all sports in general eventually introduced him to America's favorite pastime.

While Chaitanya's favorite player from the current crop is the dynamic Venezuelan Ronald Acuna Jr., his all-time favorite, however, is Pedro Martinez, for his self-belief and consistency. He also rates Jose Bautista's iconic bat flip in 2015 as his favorite moment in baseball history.

Chaitanya specializes in reporting on technical aspects of the game or analyzing patterns behind specific plays. He also likes pondering over players' self-assessments following the conclusion of a game as it helps him get an idea of how they think about the sport in general.

When not cheering for his favorites across sports, Chaitanya likes being transported to the past through a good war documentary or a historical documentary in general.

Know More

Edited by Chaitanya Prakash