Philadelphia Phillies star 1B Bryce Harper takes a swipe at team president Dave Dombrowski

That was a thinly veiled reference to some comments that Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski made about Harper earlier in the offseason. During his exit interview for the 2025 campaign, Dombrowski cast doubt on whether the 33-year-old Harper could still be an “elite” player.

Indeed, the former NL MVP Harper took a bit of a step back last season, hitting .261 with 27 home runs, 75 RBI and 12 stolen bases through 132 games. Since Harper is now a full-time first baseman who is still making around $25 million per year through 2031, the Phillies are right to have some higher expectations of him at the plate.

It is unclear the exact nature of Harper’s relationship with Dombrowski, and it should be noted that Dombrowski has been extremely complimentary of Harper in the past. But regardless of whether or not Harper legitimately took offense to Dombrowski’s comments or if he was simply poking fun at the remarks with the shirt, Harper appears to have received the message loud and clear.