TORONTO, CANADA – JUNE 10: Bryce Harper #3 of the Philadelphia Phillies walks to the dugout after grounding out against the Toronto Blue Jays in their MLB game at Rogers Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Cole Burston/Getty Images)
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Bryce Harper still has years left before he’ll seriously think about life after baseball, but that hasn’t stopped the Philadelphia Phillies’ superstar from imagining what his next chapter could look like.
The two-time National League MVP remains under contract through 2032 and continues to produce at an elite level when healthy. He has even laid out his case for another contract with the Phillies before his current one expires, though the team seems unlikely to extend him anytime soon.
Philadelphia Phillies’ Bryce Harper Has A Retirement Plan Even As He Plays At Elite Level
Still, after facing some questions about his elite status going into this season, he has enjoyed another strong campaign and put those questions to rest.
“But Harper isn’t retiring right now. He still has those six seasons left on his contract,” Jason Foster wrote for MLB.com. “And, when healthy, he remains an exceptional player. Over the past five seasons (2021-25), all of which were hampered by injuries to various extents, Harper has averaged 4.0 bWAR per season, not to mention a .914 OPS and 149 OPS+.”
Even so, Harper recently revealed that he has given some significant thought to what he wants to do professionally beyond his playing career — and he apparently has a role in mind for one of his Phillies teammates.
Philadelphia Phillies’ Bryce Harper Sends Post-Retirement Kyle Schwarber Message
Harper recently discussed his long-term ambitions, revealing that he’d eventually like to own part of a Major League Baseball franchise and help oversee its baseball operations, like a few star players have done before him.
“Harper would like to own part of an MLB franchise one day and run its baseball operations, like the setups Derek Jeter had with the Miami Marlins and Buster Posey now holds with the San Francisco Giants,” Stephen J. Nesbitt and Zack Meisel reported for The Athletic. “In fact, Harper has already picked a manager: his Philadelphia Phillies teammate Kyle Schwarber.”
While Harper’s prospects of actually owning a big-league team remain very hypothetical, if that does become a reality, he seems adamant that his fellow Phillies slugger would be the only choice for a skipper.
“I was messing with him about that,” Harper said, per Nesbitt and Meisel. “I’m like, ‘Dude, you’re going to be the best manager. If I ever own a team, you’re going to manage my team.’”
The compliment speaks to the respect Harper has for his fellow veteran Schwarber, who has become one of the Phillies’ clubhouse leaders during the club’s sustained run of World Series contention.