Dodgers are much more than free spenders, Bryce Harper says: ‘They draft, they develop, they do it the right way’
The slugger talked at spring training about the Dodgers, the "juggernaut" that is the National League East, expectations for a few Phillies rookies, and more.
CLEARWATER, Fla. — Bryce Harper doesn’t want to hear anything about the Dodgers’ nearly $400 million dollar roster being “bad for baseball.”
Following two straight World Series titles — eliminating the Phillies en route to their latest — and with their record-setting payroll, the Dodgers are viewed by some as baseball’s villains, propelling the sport toward a work stoppage in the 2027 labor negotiations.
Harper has a different opinion.
“It bothers me when everybody talks about the Dodgers spending money,” Harper said Sunday. “No, they draft, they develop, they do it the right way. ... Each team in baseball has an opportunity to do the same thing. Maybe not at the upper echelon of money, but they can draft, they can develop, they can trade.
“I think a lot of teams can do that in baseball, and they should.”
Harper believes that the Phillies’ roster still stacks up with other top teams, including the Dodgers. In his first media scrum of the 2026 season on Sunday, he said that the expectation for the Phillies this year — and every year — is to win the National League East and make a deep postseason run afterward.
The Phillies have won the division the last two seasons, and also increased their regular-season win total from 95 in 2024 to 96 last season. But the playoff results have not followed, with two straight exits in the NL Divisional Series.
“The Mets got better, getting Freddy Peralta and a couple other guys on their club,” Harper said. “I mean, the Braves are going to be really good again this year, getting a lot of their guys back, they’re going to be healthy. And so obviously, I feel like the East is a juggernaut. So just got to go and play our game. Understand we’re a really good team and go from there.”
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A neon green sign in the shape of the Phanatic hangs from the top of Harper’s locker in the BayCare Ballpark clubhouse. It was illuminated Sunday, indicating that the first baseman — and the rest of the remaining position players — had reported to the complex. The team’s first full-squad workout is scheduled for Monday.
Harper’s locker is next to the one belonging to 21-year-old shortstop prospect Aidan Miller.
“He’s a great kid,” Harper said of Miller. “He understands what he has to do. Obviously, everybody in this organization is super-excited about it. I talked to him last year a lot. I talked with him this year a little bit already. He has a bright future in this organization. I think it just kind of gets it going a little bit more.”
Harper is also looking forward to seeing other younger players, especially outfielder Justin Crawford and pitcher Andrew Painter, get an opportunity with the major league club this season. The Phillies have not had a rookie start on opening day since 2022, when Bryson Stott first broke camp with the team.
“New blood, man,” Harper said. “It’s good.”
He also acknowledged that to reach that goal of winning the NL East, and the quest for a World Series run beyond that, those rookies will need to step up. Crawford is expected to be the Phillies’ everyday center fielder. There is also an opening for Painter in the starting rotation, after Ranger Suárez’s free agency departure and with Zack Wheeler doubtful for opening day as he continues to rehab from thoracic outlet decompression surgery.
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Painter, the Phillies’ top pitching prospect, posted a 5.49 ERA last season in the minors, his first back from Tommy John surgery.
“I’m hoping he bounces back this year, and we need him to,” Harper said. “We have no idea what Wheels is going to look like. We all hope that obviously, Wheels comes back and is Zack Wheeler, because there’s nobody better in baseball when he’s going good. But we have no idea.
“When you lose a guy like Ranger, that’s a really tough thing. So you’re expected to fill the shoes of two guys that are really, really good. So I hope he can do it, and we definitely need him to do it.”