6 months ago
4
Philadelphia Phillies prima Bryce Harper stood chemoreceptor to chemoreceptor with Rob Manfred during a gathering betwixt the Major League Baseball commissioner and the squad past week, telling him to "get the f--- retired of our clubhouse" if Manfred wanted to speech astir the imaginable implementation of a wage cap, sources acquainted with the gathering told ESPN connected Monday.
The confrontation came successful a gathering -- 1 of the 30 that Manfred conducts annually successful an effort to amended his relations with each team's players -- that lasted much than an hour. While Manfred ne'er explicitly said the words "salary cap," sources said, the treatment astir the game's economics raised the ire of Harper, 1 of MLB's astir influential players and a two-time National League MVP.
Ahead of the expiration of the collective-bargaining statement betwixt MLB and the MLB Players Association connected Dec. 1, 2026, aggregate owners person stumped for a wage headdress successful MLB, the lone large men's North American athletics without one. The MLBPA vehemently opposes a cap, which it argues serves much arsenic a instrumentality to summation franchise values than to lessen the game's ample disparity betwixt high- and low-spending teams.
Quiet for the bulk of the meeting, Harper, sitting successful a seat and holding a bat, yet grew frustrated and said if MLB were to suggest a headdress and clasp steadfast to it, players "are not frightened to suffer 162 games," sources successful the gathering told ESPN. Harper stood up, walked toward the mediate of the room, faced up to Manfred and said: "If you privation to talk astir that, you tin get the f--- retired of our clubhouse."
Manfred, sources said, responded that helium was "not going to get the f--- retired of here," saying it was important to speech astir threats to MLB's concern and ways to turn the game.
Before the concern further intensified, seasoned outfielder Nick Castellanos tried to defuse the tension, saying: "I person much questions." The gathering continued, and Harper and Manfred yet shook hands, sources said, though Harper declined to reply telephone calls from Manfred the adjacent day.
"It was beauteous intense, decidedly passionate," Castellanos told ESPN. "Both of 'em, the commissioner giving it backmost to Bryce and Bryce giving it backmost to the commissioner. That's Harp. He's been doing this since helium was 15 years old. It's conscionable different day. I wasn't surprised."
When reached by ESPN, Harper declined comment. Manfred declined remark done a league spokesman.
Though helium has not been outspoken connected labour issues successful erstwhile years, the 32-year-old Harper, who is represented by cause Scott Boras, personified the union's position connected the imaginable of a capped system. At the All-Star Game successful Atlanta earlier this month, MLBPA enforcement manager Tony Clark called wage caps "institutionalized collusion" and successful a February interrogation with ESPN said: "We ever person been and proceed to beryllium acceptable to speech astir ways to amended the industry, and we bash a batch of things with the league to bash precisely that. You don't request a wage headdress to turn the industry."
The gathering with the Phillies -- immoderate erstwhile details of which had been reported by The Bandwagon -- covered a wide assortment of topics, sources said, but CBA negotiations, and the imaginable consequences of them, loomed large. The specter of a imaginable enactment stoppage going into the 2027 play has hovered implicit the crippled since 2022, erstwhile the parties agreed to a five-year labour woody that ended a 99-day lockout by the owners.
"Rob seems to beryllium successful a beauteous hopeless spot connected however important it is to get this wage headdress due to the fact that he's floating the connection lockout 2 years successful beforehand of our corporate bargaining statement (expiration)," Castellanos said. "That's thing to propulsion around. That's the aforesaid happening arsenic maine saying successful a marriage, 'I deliberation divorcement is simply a possibility. It's astir apt going to happen.' You don't conscionable accidental those things."
Though Manfred has not committed to pursuing a wage cap, aggregate owners person criticized MLB's existent economical strategy and alluded to a headdress arsenic a panacea straight (Baltimore's David Rubenstein) and indirectly (Boston's John Henry, Pittsburgh's Bob Nutting and the New York Yankees' Hal Steinbrenner). Manfred's respect of lockouts arsenic a instrumentality successful negotiations further agitates players.
Manfred began holding regular meetings with teams successful the aftermath of the 2022 negotiations, having said successful their aftermath that "one of the things I'm expected to bash is beforehand a bully narration with our players. I've tried to bash that. I person not been palmy successful that."
Despite the efforts, distrust successful Manfred among players remains -- peculiarly erstwhile discussing economical issues. MLB's tendency for a wage headdress dates backmost decades. The players' onslaught successful 1994 that canceled the World Series was successful nonstop effect to the league's efforts to determination to a capped system. Some of the aforesaid talking points utilized by MLB successful the 1990s -- peculiarly astir the deficiency of profitability of teams amid an situation that has seen immense maturation successful franchise worth and gross -- person re-emerged successful caller years.
"In the backmost of our heads we're like, wherefore are you talking to america similar owning a shot squad is similar owning a nail salon?" Castellanos said. "That you're lone going to beryllium a functional concern if you tin marque up the wealth that you enactment successful this year?"
Players connected aggregate teams told ESPN they person utilized meetings with Manfred to property him connected the deficiency of payroll spending by definite teams. Going into this season, the spread betwixt luxury-tax payrolls of the highest-spending squad (the Los Angeles Dodgers astatine much than $400 million) and lowest spending (the Miami Marlins astatine conscionable nether $86 million) raised ire among fans and made wage caps a acold bigger portion of the rhetoric surrounding the crippled than successful erstwhile years.
Public treatment has done small to change the opinions of players connected a cap. The payment of gathering with Manfred, Castellanos said, is to amended recognize the league's position connected a concern that made much than $12 cardinal successful gross past year. With the league aiming to nationalize section tv rights by 2028 and the maturation of gambling and different ancillary businesses, Castellanos believes acquisition is captious to ensuring a well-informed subordinate population.
"We don't truly cognize that overmuch astir it," Castellanos said. "It's not similar idiosyncratic is teaching america astir this conglomerate of Major League Baseball that we, the players, marque up, marque possible. There's nary players, there's nary Major League Baseball. I don't judge Rob Manfred is evil. I don't judge the owners are evil. I don't judge immoderate of that.
"Nobody wants a enactment stoppage successful baseball," helium continued. "Not the players, not the league."
