The Philadelphia Phillies had their post-mortem of their season on Thursday, where president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski repeated the National League Division Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, while providing some insight into the Phillies’ offseason plans.
One insight Dombrowski dropped during his debriefing was that he wasn’t sure if their franchise player, Bryce Harper, could be an “elite player” like when he won his two MVPs (2015 with the Washington Nationals and 2021 with the Phillies). That’s a bold statement, as Harper has slowed down in recent seasons after dealing with injuries, but still has the potential to regain his MVP form.
Phillies’ Dave Dombrowski doesn’t hesitate when talking about Bryce Harper
Dombrowski made no secret of his criticism of his star player during his hour-and-a-half press conference, questioning Harper’s ability to be an “elite player” in the game after having his worst season with the team. Harper had his worst season in Philadelphia in terms of getting on base (.357), slugging percentage (.487) and OPS (.844).
Dombrowski compared Harper to the Dodgers’ Freddie Freeman, who he also didn’t think was an elite player. That’s another controversial statement, since Freeman didn’t have one batting average lower than .280 for more than a decade and has batted below that level only three times in his sixteen years in the major leagues (2015, 2012 and 2010).
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