"Bryce Harper is poking back" - Phillies insider on $330M superstar's subtle message to Dave Dombrowski

Since signing with the Philadelphia Phillies in 2019, Bryce Harper has esatblished himself as one of the team's most influential players. He played an important role in helping the team win the NL East in 2024 and 2025.

Despite this, Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski controversially doubted Harper's ability to continue guiding the team to glory, claiming he no longer viewed the first baseman as an "elite" player, during the Phillies' end-of-season news conference.

Harper subtly hit back at Dombrowski via a social media post on Saturday, as he uploaded a video of himself taking batting practice in a shirt that said "Not Elite."

On Thursday's episode of "The Phillies Show," PHLY Sports insider Jim Salisbury offered his opinion on the whole situation.

"At first, I thought it was kinda funny. Then I said it's kinda antagonistic. Hey, he's the showman. That's his nickname, that's his MO," Salisbury said (Timestamp: 3:57). "There's some showman to this. The question was, is he doing this for motivation or is he holding a grudge? I would say a little bit of both. Maybe grudge is too strong a word, but I do think he's poking back. "I mean, he's told Gelby (The Athletic's Matt Gelb) he was hurt by those comments. He's poking back. He's making it known it's in the back of his mind. If he channels it the right way, and I think he's smart enough to channel it the right way, it could be great motivation. I like Bryce Harper with a little sneer, with a little edge, I like that. With this little edge, he could be like top three of the MVP next year. Then he can put the shirt back on and it'll say 'Elite.'

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"It’s disappointing to hear me being questioned about my contribution to the team" - Bryce Harper made it clear that Dave Dombrowski's comments 'hurt' him

A few days after Dave Dombrowski made his controversial comments about Bryce Harper, the eight-time All-Star spoke to The Athletic's Matt Gelb, making it clear that he was disappointed by the executive's remarks.

"All players get hurt,” Harper said. “I hurt my wrist this year and missed a month. Of course I don’t have full-year numbers. It’s disappointing to hear me being questioned about my contribution to the team. Just really hurt by that notion because I love Philly so much."

Division Series - Philadelphia Phillies v Los Angeles Dodgers - Game Three - Source: Getty

Phillies fans will be hoping to see Bryce Harper turn his disappointment into extra motivation for the 2026 season.

Edited by Raghav Mehta