“I guess we only find out if (Harper) becomes elite or if he continues to be good.”  It all started when the Phillies’ President of Baseball Operations, Dave Dombrowski, chucked some shade at Bryce Harper during his annual end-of-season presser. “Can he rise to the next level again? I don’t really know that answer.” He further added. Dombrowski received a lot of criticism for his words, from fans known and unknown. One such ‘known’ fan who has been vocal with his criticism is Jason Kelce. 

Appearing on SPORTSRADIO 94WIP on 30th October, the Philadelphia Eagles legend weighed in on Dave Dombrowski’s alleged slight toward Bryce Harper.

“I think, you know, publicly saying, it depends on how it’s said. And that’s what I think is unique about the Dombrowski thing: saying that he doesn’t know that the guy has the potential to be a great player again is way different than saying a guy’s not playing up to his potential. And that’s a very big difference. I just think he phrased it poorly. And I think if he had it again, he’d probably phrase it differently.” Kelce said.

In the aftermath of Dombrowski’s comments, Harper’s agent, Scott Boras, also fired back, saying, “I agree that (Harper) missed time due to injury and that his volume was down. But other than that, Bryce Harper is performing at an elite level on a number of characteristics that we keep track of.”

And then, Joel Sherman stirred up trade rumors, saying, “Would I be 100% shocked if Bryce Harper got traded this offseason? No.” In the wake of increasing criticism, Dombrowski tried to walk back his comments, “We love him. He’s a very important part of our team.” Dombrowski said.

Although not quite accurate, Dombrowski’s comments did have some degree of truth attached to them. Bryce Harper’s numbers did take a bit of a dip in 2025. His .844 OPS was his lowest since 2016, and his .261 batting average was his worst since 2019. He somehow managed to record only 27 home runs. What wasn’t mentioned enough in this entire drama was the wrist injury that slowed Harper down for a significant part of the season. It kept him on the injured list for 23 days. That’s nearly a month, and it obviously took a toll on him.

So what should Philly do to make sure that Harper reaches his potential? Maybe provide him with better support.

The Phillies need to add another big bat to give Bryce Harper better lineup protection

Apparently, pitchers seem to have figured out how to handle the Phillies’ slugger. Bryce Harper’s getting fewer good pitches to hit, particularly the ones in the strike zone. Only 43% of the pitches he saw were in the zone. That happens to be the lowest rate among 532 players who saw at least 200 pitches.

The Phillies’ cleanup spot was a weak link all season. Their hitters combined for just a .720 OPS in that role, 20th in the majors, which made it easy for opposing pitchers to pitch around Bryce Harper. Meanwhile, his teammate Kyle Schwarber filled the spot for some time before moving up to No. 2. That’s when constant injuries forced a rotation of Alec Bohm (when healthy), J.T. Realmuto, and Nick Castellanos.

None of those three, based on their 2025 performances, really belonged in the cleanup spot. And yet each of them ended up there at some point in the season.

When Dombrowski starts addressing the team’s offseason requirements, finding a reliable cleanup hitter should be near the top of the list. It’s key not only for Bryce Harper’s success but for the offense as a whole.

With a steady bat behind him, Bryce Harper won’t be seeing just 39.1% of pitches in the zone. That’s the second-lowest mark among 84 players in the NLDS, ever again.