Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said Wednesday that Harper will strictly play first base moving forward, Rob Bradford of WEEI.com reports.
Harper is almost a full calendar year removed from his November 2022 Tommy John surgery and there has been some thought that he could return to the outfield in 2024, but the 31-year-old slugger apparently took a liking to first base this past season and will now make it his permanent position in Philadelphia. Dombrowski noted that he spoke to Harper at length behind the scenes before making this information public. Dombrowski also said he relayed the news to Rhys Hoskins, who could depart in free agency this winter.