It looks like MLB is hurtling toward a massive labor dispute and potentially a lockout. That’s a drastic outcome, and one that Philadelphia Phillies star and likely future Hall of Famer Bryce Harper would like to avoid.
This comes as the league is beginning to push for a salary cap, which the MLBPA is against. That wasn’t a surprise to Harper, who brought up fears about how this could hurt baseball in 2027 and beyond.
“We’re coming from two different areas, but we both have to understand our game is in a great position right now to succeed, and we can’t lose that momentum,” Harper told ESPN on Sunday. “We can’t lose that momentum as players. We can’t lose that momentum as owners. So wherever we’re at — whatever they’re coming with, whatever we’re coming with — you have to come to an agreement before any of that happens because there’s other things to do. It’s not like ’94, where there was nothing else to do. It’s not just, ‘Oh, baseball’s here.’ No, there’s a lot of other things to do than just watch baseball.”
MLB is a league known for its labor disputes. The 1994-1995 strike might be remembered as the ugliest, though, ending a season early and severely hurting the sport’s popularity. That’s an outcome Harper is hoping to avoid, particularly as baseball is once again surging in popularity.
The Los Angeles Dodgers have become a kind of scapegoat in these labor talks, as a team that buys all the talent. The argument then becomes that small market teams can’t compete or have parity because of that, which Harper also disagrees with.
“Our game is in a great direction, in a great place, because of the Los Angeles Dodgers,” Harper said. “Obviously they make a lot of money, they’re able to get free agents, but the Dodgers don’t just do that. They draft well. They do a very good job in the minors, developing guys. Other teams can’t do that. You can spend all the money in the world, but you can have a terrible farm system and not have teams come up.”
Bryce Harper and MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred Had a Confrontation in the Philadelphia Phillies Locker Room
GettyPhiladelphia Phillies star Bryce Harper
This growing labor dispute in MLB about a potential salary cap is nothing new. In fact, the league has been trying to lay the groundwork for it for some time now. That included sending MLB commissioner Rob Manfred around the league in 2025 to discuss it with players.
While meeting with the Philadelphia Phillies, Harper confronted him aggressively.
Harper told him to “get the f— out of our clubhouse” back in July of 2025. That is, if Manfred is going to be talking about a salary cap. This came as Harper had largely been quiet while sitting down and holding a bat. At the time, he also added that the players “are not scared to lose 162 games” over a salary cap.
In turn, Manfred reportedly told Harper he would “not going to get the f— out of here.” Instead, he wanted to talk business and grow the game.
Obviously, there’s a difference of opinions on what that would look like, though, and the interaction between the Phillies star and MLB commissioner was a snapshot into how ugly things could get.
MLB and MLBPA Recently Announced Initial Offers
GettyMLB Commissioner Rob Manfred
Negotiations have begun for the next CBA. With that, both the MLBPA is MLB itself have announced their initial offers.
For the MLBPA, the focus was on the financial side of player earnings. That included minimum salary, higher luxury-tax thresholds, and expanding the pre-arbitration bonus program. They’re also looking for an adjustment to revenue sharing.
MLB isn’t close to that. The owners want a hard salary cap and floor, with an initial $171.2 million minimum and a $245.3 million maximum. There are several teams that are currently over that maximum, like both the Dodgers and the Phillies . Several are also under the minimum, like the Miami Marlins, who are spending less than $80 million on their roster. This would essentially freeze payrolls.
The idea is that it would force more than half the league to spend a little bit more, while around one-third of the league would have to spend a whole lot less, which would drive more parity. However, for the players, it would cap potential earnings if there is a hard line that the entire league can’t spend more than. Given that MLB has an antitrust exemption, there aren’t other any options to play at that level in the United States, so it’s hard to imagine the players would ever be willing to accept that cap.
The MLB and MLBPA collective bargaining agreement expires on December 1, 2026. At that point, the two sides will need to have found a way to come to an agreement, or run the risk of another work stoppage.
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