Bryce Harper reportedly had a vulgar message for Rob Manfred during a recent meeting between the MLB commissioner and the Philadelphia Phillies.
Manfred visited with the Phillies last week, as he does with all 30 MLB teams throughout the course of the season in an attempt to improve his relationship with players. It does not sound like he bonded with Harper, however.
On Monday, ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported that Harper angrily told Manfred to “get the f– out of our clubhouse” if the commissioner was looking to discuss the potential of MLB adopting a salary cap. Manfred reportedly did not use the term “salary cap,” but Harper was unhappy with the nature of the conversation about the economics of baseball.
MLB is the only major North American sport without a salary cap, and there has been talk for years that owners want to implement one. Players argue that a salary cap would serve only to increase the value of franchises and not address the issue of the spending gap between the teams with the highest payroll and lowest payroll in the league.
Harper sat quietly for the majority of the meeting before threatening that players “are not scared to lose 162 games” if team owners push for a salary cap. It was at that point that Harper told Manfred, “If you want to speak about that, you can get the f– out of our clubhouse,” according to Passan.
Manfred responded that he was not going to leave and that it was important to have open dialogue about how to address MLB issues and grow the game. Nick Castellanos stepped in to help diffuse the situation, and Harper and Manfred eventually shook hands.
“It was pretty intense, definitely passionate,” Castellanos told Passan. “Both of ’em, the commissioner giving it back to Bryce and Bryce giving it back to the commissioner. That’s Harp. He’s been doing this since he was 15 years old. It’s just another day. I wasn’t surprised.”
The current collective-bargaining agreement between MLB and the MLB Players Association is set to expire on Dec. 1, 2026. The idea of a salary cap being implemented has been a source of tension for years and will almost certainly become one again.
Harper is one of MLB’s biggest star and has been outspoken about numerous issues over the years.
