The Philadelphia Phillies are gearing up for the 2026 season after a disappointing end to their World Series aspirations last year. However, Phillies star Bryce Harper is still mystified by the president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski’s comments.
After the Phillies’ NLDS loss against the Los Angeles Dodgers in October, Dombrowski speculated whether Harper is “elite like he was before.” While Harper acknowledged his poor performance in 2025, he feels it was “wild” for Dombrowski to make the comment publicly.
“For me, it was kind of wild the whole situation of that happening,” Harper said. “I think the big thing for me was, when we first met with this organization, it was, ‘Hey, you know, we’re always going to keep things in-house, and we expect you to do the same.’
“And so, you know, when that didn’t happen, it kind of took me for a run a little bit. Obviously, I didn’t have the year I wanted. Obviously, I didn’t have the postseason I wanted. My numbers weren’t where they needed to be. I know that. …For Dave to come out and say those things, it’s kind of wild to me, still.”
Meanwhile, several MLB stars have turned their focus to the upcoming World Baseball Classic in March. However, Puerto Rico will be without stars Carlos Correa and Francisco Lindor for the tournament due to insurance coverage issues.
Puerto Rican singer Bad Bunny, who headlined the Super Bowl halftime show earlier this month, reportedly offered to cover Correa and Lindor’s insurance for WBC.
The Phillies struggled for consistency in the second half of the season with several stars underperforming at the plate. Veteran slugger Nick Castellanos was among the underperformers.
However, Castellanos didn’t take his benching well during a game in June and screamed at manager Rob Thomas and hitting coach Kevin Long. The Phillies released Castellanos last week, ending his four-year tenure with the franchise.
The All-Star slugger addressed his Phillies exit and reflected on the learnings from the incident last season.
“I think when I said I will learn from this is I guess just letting emotions get the best of me in the moment,” Castellanos said. “[Going forward] possibly if I see things that frustrate me or I don’t believe are conducive to winning to speaking up when I see it instead of letting things just pile up over time. And finally, when I address it, it’s less emotional.”
The veteran slugger has found a new home in San Diego as the Padres are reportedly signing Castellanos to bolster their outfield that features Fernando Tatis Jr., Jackson Merrill and Ramon Laureano.
