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We’ve heard from Bryce Harper a lot this off-season.
He’s been active on Instagram, talking about blood ozonation and wearing “Not Elite” T-shirts. He’s held court in Clearwater discussing Dave Dombrowski’s now-famous post-season comments, and he’s been on podcasts like “Bussin’ the Boys” and, on Monday, ESPN’s Pat McAfee Show.
After an off-season stewing over Dombrowski’s assessment of a 2025 campaign that was pretty good but, sorry Bryce, not elite, Harper appears eager to shove an entire off-season of frustration up everyone’s noses.
This is all for the good. Ever since Harper signed with the Phillies ahead of the 2019 season, the roster has been designed around one guiding principle.
The offense flows through him.
He is the superstar. He is the straw that stirs the drink. He is the MVP candidate, the future Hall of Famer, the anchor, the man who performs best in the game’s biggest moments.
Except, he wasn’t that last season. It was noticeable. Try to think back on the “big” Bryce Harper moments from 2025. One doesn’t leap to mind, does it?
Harper was a very good player last season, worth a little over 3 wins while missing 30+ games in the middle of the season with an injury. That’s fine production from your second or third-best player, but the Phillies have relied on Harper to be the face of the franchise and its best player.
Last year, that person was Kyle Schwarber.
It feels like, this year, Bryce Harper wants to re-take his place atop the Phillies’ food chain.
Harper, Schwarber and 13 of their teammates are preparing to play in this week’s World Baseball Classic, an Olympics-like tournament featuring the very best players in the world playing for their home countries. Over the next two weeks, baseball fans will be fortunate to watch some baseball that matters, games that will crackle with drama, intensity, and emotion.
What better way for Harper to begin his redemption arc than to have a monster World Baseball Classic?
Harper homered in his final spring at-bat with the Phillies before leaving for the WBC, and over the years has generally stepped up in situations like this. The Orlando Arcia Game in the 2023 NLDS, the entirety of the ‘22 postseason, grand slams and 9th inning bombs in the biggest moments, those are his calling cards. And now he has the opportunity to make everyone forget about a tumultuous off-season by owning the WBC.
On the latest Hittin’ Season podcast, we discussed whether the World Baseball Classic is a litmus test for Harper’s 2026 season (FOLLOW the show on Spotify below!).
Of course, a red-hot WBC for Harper does not necessarily mean a hot start to the regular season with the Phillies. As was mentioned in the video, Trea Turner (who surprisingly wasn’t asked to play for Team USA this time around) had a WBC for the ages in 2023, his first season in Philadelphia.
Turner hit five home runs in that WBC. He then started his Phils career by hitting .235/.290/.368 over the first four months and 107 games until the standing ovation that turned around his season on August 4.
And to be fair to Harper, a subpar WBC would not necessarily mean we’re in for another non-elite campaign from him this year. These are, after all, exhibition games. In early March, players are normally still getting their bodies ready for the regular season and are nowhere near at the top of their game at this point.
Harper’s inclusion in the WBC could not have been more opportune. Perhaps getting him out of Clearwater, away from the humdrum monotony of spring training baseball, is just what he needs. Getting his competitive juices flowing now could be very good for his state of mind, an outlet for his frustrations. If that’s the case, pity the poor pitchers who will be trying to get him out, including some of his own teammates in Cristopher Sanchez, Jesus Luzardo and, yes, Aaron Nola, who is pitching for Team Italy.
While I’m sure they would be angry at themselves for giving up big hits to Harper over the next two weeks, somewhere inside they would secretly be happy to see their biggest star having a star turn at the WBC.
Bryce Harper does not need to have a monster World Baseball Classic in order for his 2026 season to be a bigger success, and if he struggles, it doesn’t necessarily portend disaster.
But it sure would be nice to see him rake.