The rumor mill almost flew off the hinges after talks of the possibility of Bryce Harper getting traded ramped up over the last few days. The Philadelphia Phillies' star first baseman is now front and center of mock trades and the rumors of him leaving Philadelphia.
It all started with the Phillies hosting their end-of-the-season press conference. Phillies fans were looking for an answer, and what they got was president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski pondering the idea of whether Harper is still an elite player. The baseball world jumped all over it, assuming a shocking change of scenery is what's next to come.
Luckily, Harper's agent Scott Boras threw cold water on that idea entirely.
Bryce Harper isn't leaving the Phillies
According to sportswriter Christian Red, Boras doesn't believe the Phillies will ship Harper.
“I don’t think Dave (Dombrowski) or John (Middleton) or anybody is contemplating Bryce Harper not being a Philadelphia Phillie for the rest of his career,” Boras said, per Red. “Remember, there’s only ten (10) qualified hitters that had a .355 OBP (On-Base Percentage) and .485 SLG (Slugging Percentage) this year: Bryce, (Shohei) Ohtani, (Kyle) Schwarber, (Juan) Soto, (Cal) Raleigh, (Aaron) Judge, (José) Ramírez, (Freddie) Freeman, (George) Springer and (Ketel) Marte. If you want to talk about Harper’s minimums due to injury, there they are.”
To Dombrowski's credit, Harper did have a down year in 2024. He hit .261/.357/.487. He also hit 27 and drove in 75 RBIs, all while nursing a sore wrist that sidelined him for a month. Even with a down year, Harper is still an elite baseball player and can hit that ceiling any given year.
“When you look into expected baseball stats – Harper is pretty much on par with his career averages,” Boras said, per Red. “He’s surrounded by (Kyle) Tucker, (Fernando) Tatis (Jr.), (Bobby) Witt (Jr.), and (Rafael) Devers. His barrel rate, hard hit rate, exit velocity, are all in the top of MLB. His barrel rate is the same as Vladdy (Guerrero) Jr. and Witt Jr. His exit velocity is the same as Cal Raleigh’s and Julio Rodriguez’s.”
His advanced stats show that. His xBA, xSLG, and bat speed are all on par with his 2024 All-Star campaign. Dombrowski even himself said he wasn't trying to be critical of Harper nor give hints that he was going to trade him, per his interview on Thursday on the Foul Territory podcast.
“I've been reading that the Phillies may trade Bryce Harper. That couldn't be further from the truth,” Dombrowski said.
"I've been reading that the Phillies may trade Bryce Harper. That couldn't be further from the truth."
— Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) October 23, 2025
Dave Dombrowski says Bryce Harper is an elite talent, and his comments weren't meant to be criticism. pic.twitter.com/HMJY6TjPsv
One of Boras' big keys to his clients is the opt-outs in their contracts. Harper would be a perfect candidate for it to test free agency once again and reap an even bigger reward, but he insisted on being loyal wherever he signed next. Boras couldn't convince him otherwise.
“I said, ‘Bryce, we need to get an opt-out in this (Phillies) contract.’ Bryce says, ‘No. I trust the owner. He’ll be fair with me. I want to send a message to fans, ownership, that I’m going to be in Philadelphia for the rest of my career,’” Boras said, per Red.
Phillies fans can breathe a sigh of relief, at least for now. Harper chose Philadelphia and has had a special connection with the city ever since. The city loves him, and he's quickly become one of the legends in Phillies history. The Phillies need to cherish their star, and it looks like it'll remain that way.