Bryce Harper is using anything that he can to motivate himself this offseason.
The Philadelphia Phillies star Harper turned some heads on Friday with his latest TikTok video. Harper posted a video of himself hitting in the batting cage while wearing a shirt with an interesting message.
“Not elite,” Harper’s shirt read. Take a look at a screenshot of the video.
Bryce Harper’s new shirt via his TikTok: “Not elite.” pic.twitter.com/51wbLrgdXF
— Destiny Lugardo (@destiny_lugardo) December 27, 2025
That was a thinly-veiled reference to some comments that Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski made about Harper earlier in the offseason. During his exit interview for the 2025 campaign, Dombrowski cast doubt on whether the 33-year-old Harper could still be an “elite” player.
Phillies President Dave Dombrowski said he does not know if Bryce Harper can be an elite player again Bryce turned 33 today.
— John Clark (@JClarkNBCS) October 16, 2025
“He is still a quality player. He is still an All-Star caliber player. He did not have an elite season like he has in the past. I guess we will only… pic.twitter.com/lqwEApDxpp
Indeed, the former NL MVP Harper took a bit of a step back last season, hitting .261 with 27 home runs, 75 RBIs, and 12 stolen bases through 132 games. Since Harper is now a full-time first baseman who is still making around $25 million per year through 2031, the Phillies are right to have some higher expectations of him at the plate.
It is unclear the exact nature of Harper’s relationship with Dombrowski, and it should be noted that Dombrowski has been extremely complimentary of Harper in the past. But regardless of whether or not Harper legitimately took offense to Dombrowski’s comments or if he was simply poking fun at the remarks with the shirt, Harper appears to have received the message loud and clear.
