Bryce Harper is not motivated by criticism from his president.

Bryce Harper did not have the easiest 2025 season of his professional career.

His season on the field wasn't great… his club didn't have much success in the playoffs… he asked the Major League Baseball commissioner to leave his club's locker room… and he saw his president (Dave Dombrowski) publicly question his ability to return to the elite.Bryce Harper was hurt by his boss's comments, and was seen training in a “non-elite” jersey on social media during the offseason. That spoke volumes about how he viewed the situation.

But now, on the sidelines of spring training, Harper has gone before the media and made his feelings on the matter clear.

Bryce Harper says it was kind of “wild” the way Phillies President Dave Dombrowski made his comments about Bryce's season and that it was not elite.

Bryce says he is always available to anyone with the team and he had an understanding that everything would be kept “in house”… pic.twitter.com/MdzkjVII0l

— John Clark (@JClarkNBCS) February 15, 2026

The Phillies first baseman said he wasn't motivated by such comments. I wonder if he's really telling the truth (in my opinion, it motivates him… and Dombrowski knows it), but we understand why he's sending such a message: to defend himself.

Basically, he's saying that when he signed with the Phillies, there was an agreement that dirty laundry would be washed within the family. When Dombrowski spoke publicly, Harper felt that his club had broken its word.

Of course, Dombrowski wasn't in town when Harper signed… but we understand the frustration of the star, who saw his bosses think that using an old-school technique would motivate him to play better. I can't wait to see what kind of season the former Nationals player will have in 2026.

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