(This story has been updated with new information)
Ahead of a three-game series against the Chicago White Sox, two-time National League MVP Bryce Harper did not dispute the July 28 report by ESPN’s Jeff Passan that he cussed out MLB commissioner Rob Manfred in a recent encounter in the Philadelphia Phillies’ clubhouse.
The Phillies All-Star first baseman didn’t go further into the encounter when meeting with reporters on Monday, July 28 at Rate Field in Chicago, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Scott Lauber and Lochlahn March.
‘Everybody saw the words and everything that happened, but I don’t want to say anything more than that,’ Harper said. ‘I want to focus on my teammates, and our union as a whole, and just worry about winning baseball.’
He added: ‘I’ve talked labor, and I’ve done it in a way that I don’t need to talk to the media about it. I don’t need it out there. It has nothing to do with media or anybody else. … I’ve always been very vocal, just not in a way that people can see.’
According to Passan’s report, Harper stood ‘nose to nose’ with Manfred, telling him to ‘get the (expletive) out of our clubhouse’ if the commissioner wanted to talk about the potential addition of a salary cap. Manfred was conducting one of his annual meetings with each MLB team, which resulted in tension with one of the league’s biggest stars.
ESPN reported Manfred never explicitly mentioned a salary cap, however, discussions of MLB’s economics frustrated Harper.
‘Young players need to talk with veterans like Harp. Harp has been fighting the consequences of caps his whole life,’ Harper’s agent, Scott Boras told The Athletic. ‘… Harp knows what caps can do to players’ rights, especially young players.’
That wasn’t the only heated moment to take place inside the Phillies’ clubhouse last week. According to The Athletic’s Evan Drellich and Matt Gelb, MLB Network analyst Mark DeRosa, a former MLB utility player, was also in the clubhouse alongside Manfred and said something that ‘some players took as a threat.’
‘The commissioner’s a powerful guy, don’t (expletive) around with him,’ The Athletic reported on the tone of DeRosa’s message in the Phillies clubhouse last week. DeRosa, who co-hosts MLB Network’s ‘MLB Central’ every weekday morning and holds an additional position role with MLB (which primarily owns MLB Network), told The Athletic he was ‘just joking’ with his comments.
‘Shame on me for thinking I had a better relationship with some of the players in there than I guess I do,’ DeRosa, who who is once again managing Team USA in the 2026 World Baseball Classic, told the outlet. ‘The comment I made was completely in jest, completely kidding, amongst a group of about 10-12 players. Guys were laughing, guys were joking. I had managed some of them with Team USA, I had played with Bryce in 2012. Literally making a joke.’
The tensions come as MLB and the MLB Players Association’s collective-bargaining agreement expires on Dec. 1, 2026. MLB owners and personnel alike have clamored for a salary cap implementation, as the league is the lone professional sport without one in North America.
ESPN added the MLBPA overwhelmingly opposes a salary cap.
According to Passan, Harper said if MLB were to propose a salary cap, players ‘are not scared to lose 162 games.’ After Harper stood up to Manfred, who was standing in the middle of the room, Manfred said he was ‘not going to get the (expletive) out of here.’
Phillies outfielder Nick Castellanos attempted to defuse the situation, according to the report. Harper and Manfred shook hands after the meeting, although Harper declined a phone call from Manfred the next day.
‘It was pretty intense, definitely passionate,’ Castellanos told ESPN. ‘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.’
Harper and Manfred both declined to comment to ESPN.
The current CBA, which was agreed upon in 2022, ended a 99-day lockout as the two sides negotiated terms. A potential salary cap implementation is one of the biggest current talking points of the next deal, which will be needed ahead of the 2027 season.
‘(Manfred) seems to be in a pretty desperate place on how important it is to get this salary cap because he’s floating the word ‘lockout’ two years in advance of our collective bargaining agreement (expiration),’ Castellanos told ESPN. ‘That’s nothing to throw around. That’s the same thing as me saying in a marriage, ‘I think divorce is a possibility. It’s probably going to happen.’ You don’t just say those things.’
The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.
