PHILADELPHIA – If you’re wondering, Bryce Harper and Dave Dombrowski have talked.
“We had a nice conversation,” Dombrowski, the Phillies’ president of baseball operations, told reporters on Tuesday at the GM Meetings in Las Vegas. “Everything went well.”
Last month at Citizens Bank Park, Dombrowski candidly assessed Harper’s 2025 season and his chances to be an MVP-quality player in the future, saying, “He didn’t have an elite season like he has had in the past. And I guess we only find out if he becomes elite or he continues to be good. … Can he rise to the next level again? I don’t really know that answer. He’s the one that will dictate that more than anything else.”
It sparked plenty of discussion, including unfounded trade speculation and theories that Dombrowski’s comments were sparked by a disagreement about a contract extension. Not true.
But the offseason moves on.
The Phillies need to get better. Another big bat would help the cause, especially if it meant more protection for Harper in the lineup.
Harper has said a couple times this year that he would return to the outfield, if the Phillies acquired a significant bat to play first base.
“He’s actually done that for a couple of years now,” Dombrowski said. “We really appreciate that aspect of it, but we really look at him as a first baseman at this time. I’m sure he could go out there, but he’s played at first well. He’s a good first baseman and he continues to get better. We really like our club with him there, so I think he is more of our first baseman.”
Dombrowski said the Phillies would love to re-sign free agents Kyle Schwarber, J.T. Realmuto and Ranger Suárez. Schwarber and Realmuto are believed to be the top priorities.
Asked if the outfield and bullpen are focuses, Dombrowski said, “It’s a very hard question for me to answer at this point because of our free agency situation. So until I know where we stand, right now … we don’t have an everyday catcher, we don’t have an everyday DH … we’re short an outfielder, we lost a starting pitcher, we do have some starting pitching depth. So, I don’t know that our bullpen is quite as strong. We do have [closer Jhoan] Duran, we like [Orion] Kerkering. We’ve got [José] Alvarado back now, with [left-handers Tanner] Banks and with [Matt] Strahm. But you can always get better out there. But I wouldn’t say it’s as driving a need because Duran changes that situation for us, which we haven’t had.
“But so much of it is, OK, if we get those guys back, well, what do we do from there? And it’s early in the process, so I don’t have those answers. But of course right now, outfield, we’re pretty null and void.”
