Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Bryce Harper expressed surprise Sunday over comments from team president Dave Dombrowski suggesting the two-time NL MVP may no longer be an elite player. Harper, 33, said he was taken aback by the public nature of Dombrowski's October assessment of his performance.

Harper's .844 OPS marked his lowest since 2016, while his .261 average was his worst since 2019. The comments came after Harper hit 27 homers and drove in 75 runs during the 2025 regular season before going 3-for-15 with no RBIs in the Phillies' four-game NL Division Series loss to the Dodgers. A wrist injury forced Harper to miss a month of action.

Despite the critique, Harper emphasized that such comments don't motivate him, noting that his production last season wasn't dramatically different from 2024 when he finished sixth in NL MVP voting. With six seasons remaining on his $330 million, 13-year deal, Harper maintains his standards remain high regardless of external commentary. The situation has created an unusual public tension between one of baseball's marquee players and his team's front office.