Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Bryce Harper told Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred to “get the f— out of our clubhouse” during a team meeting held in Philadelphia in late July 2025, according to ESPN.
The meeting took place during the Phillies’ home series against the Boston Red Sox and lasted over an hour. Manfred, who visits all 30 MLB teams annually, spoke with players about the media landscape and ways to grow the game. According to a person with direct knowledge of the conversation, Harper responded angrily when Manfred raised the topic of a potential salary cap.
ESPN reported that Harper got in Manfred’s face and made the statement in response to the salary cap discussion. According to the same report, Manfred replied, “I’m not going to get the f— out of here,” and continued the meeting.
Harper was visibly irate during the exchange, according to the report. A few players in the room attempted to defuse the situation, and Harper and Manfred shook hands at the end of the meeting, though the report stated that Harper did not answer Manfred’s phone calls the following day.
Nick Castellanos, Phillies outfielder, confirmed details of the meeting in interviews with ESPN and The Bandwagon. Castellanos said, “It was pretty intense, definitely passionate. Both of ’em. The commissioner giving it back to Bryce and Bryce giving it back to the commissioner.”
Harper addressed reporters before the Phillies’ July 29 game at Guaranteed Rate Field in Chicago, a 6–2 loss to the White Sox. He did not deny the reports and said, “I won’t be getting into the details of what happened or how I felt or anything else like that. I don’t think it does any good for anybody for that to happen. So, for me, I just, you know, trying to worry about baseball, trying to worry about everything in here.”
The collective bargaining agreement between Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association expires on December 1, 2026, and some team owners want to add a salary cap, something the league has never had. Players, including Harper, are against it.
Nick Castellanos said Manfred brought up the salary cap during the meeting and even used the word “lockout.” Castellanos said, “Rob 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). 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.”
Manfred has made increased efforts to meet with players since the last labor agreement in March 2022. He has stated that he does not try to convince players that a salary cap would be good, but instead explains the league’s financial concerns, particularly issues in the media business and competitive balance.
During the All-Star break, Manfred said, “I identify a problem in the media business and explain to them that owners need to change to address that problem. I then identify a second problem that we need to work together and that is that there are fans in a lot of our markets who feel like we have a competitive balance problem.”
A spokeswoman for the Major League Baseball Players Association declined to comment when asked about the situation on Monday night.
Harper is one of baseball’s most prominent players. As a two-time National League Most Valuable Player, he has been selected to eight All-Star teams and signed a 13-year, $330 million contract with the Phillies in February 2019.
Following the reports, Harper expressed that he prefers such meetings to remain private. “Obviously, I don’t want that to happen in those meetings,” he said. “I don’t want those things to be out there. I think, you know, when we have meetings with the commissioner or anybody else that comes to our clubhouse, those are good meetings to have.”
