Have the Phillies soured on former NL MVP Bryce Harper?

It's a jarring statement to hear from a baseball executive regarding one of his best players, especially one with as much notoriety as Bryce Harper.

The Phillies don't seem to view Bryce Harper as an elite player anymore

Harper, 33, had a solid 2025 by league standards, with a .844 OPS and 129 OPS+ in 132 games played, along with 27 home runs. However, these stats represent a decline in production from 2024, when he posted an OPS of .898 and an OPS+ of 146. 

But if we're speaking truthfully, Harper's drop-off in offensive efficiency has been a slow burn dating to his NL MVP campaign in 2021. That makes it easier to justify Dombrowski's assessment of his veteran first baseman. 

Furthermore, Harper's postseason results in 2025 were unflattering: A .600 OPS in four games as the Phillies dropped the NLDS to the Los Angeles Dodgers. That theme of underwhelming production in the playoffs permeated throughout the Philadelphia lineup, much as it has in their last several postseason runs.

If change is coming in South Philly, it could very well start with Harper. Not too long ago, he was clamoring for an extension on top of his current 13-year pact. That was a ridiculous demand then and it looks even more foolish now. 

Let's face it: Perhaps the Washington Nationals were right to let Harper walk. They won the World Series in 2019, the year after Harper left for the Phillies. Meanwhile, the two-time NL MVP has yet to get back to the Fall Classic after a six-game defeat at the hands of the Houston Astros in 2022. 

It might be reckoning time for Bryce Harper in the city of Philadelphia.