MLB star Bryce Harper appeared to send a blunt, two-word message to Dave Dombrowski in response to the Phillies’ owners brutal analysis back in October.
When the Phillies were eliminated from the playoffs two months ago, front office executive Dombrowski offered a scathing assessment of Harper’s performances.
The 69-year-old claimed that Harper ‘didn’t have an elite season’ and questioned whether the first baseman ‘becomes elite’ later in his career.
Dombrowski would later come out and insist that he’d cleared the air with the two-time MVP, however, Harper’s latest TikTok would suggest otherwise.Â
On Boxing Day, the 33-year-old shared footage from his batting practice, where he was wearing a T-shirt with a pointed message for the Phillies owner.Â
Stood in the batters box, Harper wore a black T-shirt that read: ‘Not elite’.
Bryce Harper has seemingly sent a blunt, two-word message to Dave Dombrowski
Dombrowski (right) questioned Harper’s ‘elite’ status back in October after a difficult season
While Harper did have to deal with a wrist injury during the 2025 season, the first baseman’s numbers were in-fact down across the board.Â
Harper played in 132 games for the Phillies and hit .261 with 27 home runs and 75 RBIs. He also recorded an .844 OPS during the season.Â
All that lead to Dombrowski’s brutal assessment back in October. At an end-of-year press conference, the Phillies owner said: ‘Of course, he’s still a quality player’.
‘He’s still an All-Star caliber player. 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 if he continues to be good.Â
‘I look around the league … Freddie Freeman. He’s a really good player, right? He still is a good player. Is he elite like he was before? Probably not to the same extent. Freddie’s a tremendous player. And, that to me, is Bryce.Â
‘Can he rise to the next level again? I don’t really know that answer. I mean, really, he’s the one that will dictate that more than anything else, is what it comes down to.’
‘I don’t think he’s content with the year that he had. And, again, it wasn’t a bad year, but when I think of Bryce Harper, you’re thinking elite, you’re thinking one of the top 10 players in baseball, and I don’t think [his 2025 season] fit into that category’.
Fans in Harper’s TikTok comment section were loving the first baseman’s sly dig.Â
On Harper, Dombrowski said: ‘Can he rise to the next level again? I don’t know that answer’
One wrote: ”Not elite’ need that 2012-19 KILLER version of Bryce back like I need air’.
Another said: ”Not elite’ the man is angry… mvp [soon].Â
Harper recently made headlines after revealing that he had undergone a bizarre offseason procedure to remove a third of his blood from his body.Â
Taking to Instagram, the 33-year-old – seemingly in the hope of finding a way to elongate his career and improve his health – posted a photo of himself hooked up to machines, alongside his doctor.Â
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MLB star Bryce Harper takes thinly-veiled dig at Phillies boss with pointed T-shirt message during offseason