MLB commissioner Manfred downplays CBA spat with Phillies' Harper - ESPN

CHICAGO — While in town to announce Wrigley Field as the host of the 2027 All-Star Game, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred downplayed his recent confrontation with Philadelphia Phillies star Bryce Harper over the looming labor battle between the league and its players.

«I think more has been made out of this than needs to be made out of it,» Manfred said Friday morning. «Bryce expressed his views. At the end of the meeting, we shook hands and went our separate ways. Not all that significant.»

Manfred has spent time talking directly to players over the past couple of seasons ahead of the expiration of the collective bargaining agreement at the end of next year. While in the Phillies' clubhouse last month, Harper confronted Manfred regarding the potential for a salary cap as the league and the MLBPA get set to negotiate a new deal.

«Get the f--- out of our clubhouse,» Harper told Manfred if a salary cap is what he wanted to talk about. Cooler heads eventually prevailed, and the two did shake hands at the end of the meeting.

Manfred was asked if the confrontation was an example of the divide between the players and the league ahead of negotiations.

«It was an individual picking a particular way to express himself, and I don't think you need to make more out of it than that,» Manfred responded.

There has been growing concern from all sides that the league will lock out the players after the 2026 season in hopes of installing a salary cap similar to the ones the NFL, NHL and NBA use. MLB players, via union leadership, have always stood firm that they will never play under a system that limits salaries.

Manfred cited his record on labor since joining the league in 1998 as a reason that he is hopeful things will work out before MLB