May 22, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA; Philadelphia Phillies first base Bryce Harper (3) prepares to take to the field in the seventh inning against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images Ron Chenoy
There is nothing worse in sports than ridiculous narratives born out of uninformed speculation.
Not many cities thrive off that nonsense more than Philadelphia.
The most recent cockamamie concept came crawling from under a talk radio rock.
The Phillies are looking to trade Bryce Harper.
Joe Giglio thinks there is trouble brewing behind the scenes between Bryce Harper and the Phillies 👀
"In six years. Nobody has talked about trading Bryce Harper, in fact, other than me coming up with a hypothetical three summers ago about Juan Soto. {...} I'm starting to… pic.twitter.com/42yCdwErVT
— SPORTSRADIO 94WIP (@SportsRadioWIP) October 22, 2025
It didn't make sense the first time it was suggested on the same airwaves days earlier. Frankly. It never made sense.
On Thursday, Phillies president Dave Dombrowski put a fork in it for good.
Appearing on the Foul Territory podcast, Dombrowski was asked a question about Harper and the comments the Phillies President made about his star player's elite status.
"This thing got a life of it's own," Dombrowski said. "Now I've been reading that, 'Oh, the Phillies may trade Bryce Harper.' That couldn't be further from the truth. We love him. I think he's a great player. He's a very important part of our team."
We should be able to just end this post right there. That should be enough.
But the reality is, Dombrowski can be honest and transparent about how he evaluates Harper's season and at the same time recognize he's still one of the game's top players.
But Harper just turned 33 years old. It's a time when guys start to begin the downside of their careers. Dombrowski even made a comparison to Miguel Cabrera, who came off back-to-back MVP awards and a triple crown and in his age 33 season, started to not look like the same player.
That's what Dombrowski was questioning about Harper. He wasn't saying Harper had a bad year, so let's get rid of him. Instead it was, more that now that he's 33, can he be elite again?
"I'll take my chances with Bryce more than most," Dombrowski said. "Bryce is an elite talent ... and he's driven. It's a shame where this has gone, because it wasn't meant to be a criticism."
Now, it might have been meant to be a motivator. Harper did have a down year - by his standards. And he's sure going to be asked about it when on the first day of Spring Training in February.
That's a different story entirely.
Harper still has six years remaining on his contract with the Phillies and a full no trade clause - which is another reason he's not going anywhere, unless he decides to waive that no trade clause.
Speaking of that contract, Harper hinted last year that he'd like an extension. His Agent, Scott Boras, has repeatedly talked about all the things that keep his client considered among the elite in the game of baseball. Dombrowski addressed the contract thing, too. Sorta.
"Fortunately, he's already got a long contract with us, so we're in pretty good shape," Dombrowski said.
In other words, become elite again, and we'll talk.
But in order for that to happen, he has to stay in Philadelphia. Don't worry. He is going to remain a Phillie. He was going to all along, no matter what poppycock you may have heard elsewhere.
