Bryce Harper reportedly upset with recent trade speculation: ‘It makes me feel uncomfortable’
Bryce Harper, in his first public comments since the end of the Phillies season, said he’s “hurt” by recent trade talks.
The Phillies have no intention of trading Harper. The conversation is pure speculation from sports-talk radio hosts, podcasters and fans on social media. But the conversation stems from Dave Dombrowski’s candid comments regarding Harper’s 2025 season and whether the Phillies first baseman has another elite season in him or not.
All of it has gotten back to Harper.
“I have given my all to Philly from the start,” Harper told Matt Gelb of The Athletic on Saturday. “Now there is trade talk? I made every effort to avoid this. It’s all I heard in D.C. (with the Nationals). I hated it. It makes me feel uncomfortable.”
Harper signed a 13-year, $330 million deal with the Phillies prior to 2019. His agent Scott Boras advised the then 26-year-old superstar to include an opt-out clause in his contract. Harper, when he was a young superstar in Washington, was bothered by others publicly speculating on where he’d play next.
“It’s been so great here, I wouldn’t change it for the world,” Harper told USA Today’s Bob Nightengale in September. “I didn’t want an opt-out. The biggest thing for me was that I didn’t want everybody talking about where I was going. That’s all anybody talked about when I was in D.C.”
Harper essentially traded tens of millions of dollars for peace of mind. It’s why it’s not surprising that recent trade speculation struck a nerve.
“I wanted these fans to know Philly is my home, so from the start, I made the commitment to stay here for the rest of my career,” Harper told The Athletic on Saturday. “No opt-out, even though I was advised otherwise. I trust John (Middleton).”
Harper, as reported by The Athletic, was also not happy with Dombrowski’s comments on his season at the end-of-year press conference. Dombrowski, on a recent appearance on the show Foul Territory, clarified his remarks.
“They asked me what type of year did you think he had,” Dombrowski said on Foul Territory. “And I said he had a very good year, I don’t think he had an elite year. When I think of Bryce Harper, it’s a compliment because the reality is there are 8 to 10 players in the game of baseball every year when they’re not in the MVP consideration for whatever reason. Sometimes it can be an injury factor, sometimes they just have a bad year. It’s not an elite year for them. So the reality is that he’s a great player, he’s a future Hall of Famer. This thing’s got a life of its own. Now I’ve been reading that the Phillies may trade Bryce Harper. That couldn’t be further from the truth. He’s a great player. He’s a very important part of our team. I’ve seen him have better years. I look for him to have better years.”
In his seventh season with the Phillies, Harper batted .261 with 27 home runs, 75 RBIs and an .844 OPS. He missed most of June with a wrist injury. He was still the Phillies’ second-best hitter over 162 games, but his 129 OPS+ was his lowest in a full season since 2019.
With the offseason not even officially underway, the Phillies have some damage control to do.
“It’s disappointing to hear me being questioned about my contribution to the team,” Harper told The Athletic. “Just really hurt by that notion because I love Philly so much.”