Chill, Phillies fans, you can chill.
Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski addressed the wild rumor that has haunted Phils fans the past few days — that the team may actually trade superstar Bryce Harper this winter. “That couldn’t be further from the truth,” Dombrowski said on the Foul Territory podcast that dropped Thursday. “We love him. He’s a very important part of our team.”
The rumor gained traction after Dombrowski made stunning comments about Harper’s 2025 performance during his annual season-end press conference one week ago. He said the two-time MVP may no longer be an elite player. “I guess we only find out if (Harper) becomes elite or if he continues to be good,” Dombrowski said at the time.
Phillies president Dave Dombrowski says team isn’t trading Bryce harper this off-season. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
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Dombrowski’s comments whipped around Philly sports-talk radio and social media, inciting unhinged rumors that Dombrowski is trying to trade Harper, who has six years remaining on his 13-year, $330 million deal. (Click here to see a post that gave Phillie fans a bad case of the shakes.) “This thing’s got a life of its own,” Dombrowski said of the rumor. “It’s a shame where this has gone.”
But it wasn’t all Dombrowski’s doing. MLB insider Joel Sherman added fuel to the trade-Harper inferno on Tuesday when he said on Pinstripe Post that he wouldn’t be “100 percent shocked” if Dombrowski traded Harper this off-season.
Harper’s agent Scott Boras even tried to quell the gossip. “I don’t think Dave (Dombrowski) or (Phillies majority owner) John (Middleton) or anybody is contemplating Bryce Harper not being a Philadelphia Phillie for the rest of his career,” Boras said earlier this week in an exclusive piece by sports writer Christian Red.
On Thursday, Dombrowski also clarified his comments that Harper may no longer be an elite player. “I said he had a very good year, I don’t think he had an elite year,” he said. “It wasn’t meant to be a criticism… To me, Bryce Harper is one of the best players in the game of baseball.”
Foul Territory cohost A. J. Pierzynski then asked Dombrowski if he’d consider giving Harper a contract extension, which Harper and Boras have lobbied for in the past.
Dombrowski grinned and said, “Fortunately, he’s already got a long contract.”
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/anthonystitt/2025/10/23/phillies-arent-trading-bryce-harper-says-dave-dombrowski/
