Phillies’ Bryce Harper sends subtle shade to Dave Dombrowski with ‘Not Elite’ shirt

Bryce Harper does not forget. Nor does he even want to. On Friday, the Philadelphia Phillies slugger made waves when he wore a shirt that appears to be a clapback towards an earlier comment made about him by Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski.

Dombrowski, when asked about Harper and his contributions for the Phillies this past 2025, remarked that the 33-year-old slugger “didn’t have an elite season like he’s had in the past”. Making matters worse, Dombrowski then questioned if Harper could return to that elite level or if he “continues to be [just] good” moving forward.

The Phillies slugger seems to have taken that comment to heart, and the shirt he wore during practice in a batting cage has a print that says “NOT ELITE”, referencing that comment from Dombrowski.

Bryce Harper posted a video on TikTok hitting in a shirt that says “NOT ELITE” https://t.co/ShlwxDFoK8 pic.twitter.com/yKxYRrsCKt

— Talkin' Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) December 27, 2025

Harper has already said in the past that these comments hurt him and being in trade rumors after the Phillies’ NLDS exit made him feel very uncomfortable. Perhaps he responds well to negativity and returns to elite form in 2026 just to stick it to management. And maybe this is why Dombrowski said what he said in the first place.

Can Bryce Harper return to elite form for the Phillies?

Harper did have a bit of a down season for the Phillies in 2025, especially when compared to 2024 when he put up 5.1 fWAR thanks to an OPS of .898. But he did miss 30 games in 2025, and his peripheral stats did stay mostly the same — with a decline in batted-ball luck contributing to an overall decline in level of production (a 13-point drop in wRC+ and a .054 decline in OPS).

Make no mistake about it, Harper remains a very good player. And at 33 years of age, he has plenty of gas left in the tank. The Phillies have to concentrate on keeping him healthy, and a healthy level of production should follow.

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