Bryce Harper sends clear message about MLB lockout status

Bryce Harper is not involved in the on-site negotiations as Major League Baseball tries to avert a lockout that extends into the regular season. However, he’s definitely keeping tabs of what is happening, and his latest update did not provide a lot of encouragement.

On Monday, Harper sent a clear message about the state of negotiations on his Instagram story. The Philadelphia Phillies star’s post depicted him photoshopped in the uniform of Japan’s Yomiuri Giants, with him offering his services because he has “some time to kill.”

And Bryce Harper has checked in via his Instagram story: pic.twitter.com/vt1omi5jV3

— Bob Wankel (@Bob_Wankel) February 28, 2022

In other words, Harper is ready to offer his services to the Japanese league, because he won’t be playing in MLB at the start of the season.

While there was some moderate progress in talks between MLB and the MLBPA earlier in the week, that stalled, and by the weekend it was looking increasingly likely that the start of the regular season would be canceled. Harper’s post all but confirms that, as he certainly has contacts who know what is going on.