The collective-bargaining agreement between MLB and the MLBPA is still over a year away from expiring, but the division between the two sides is clear.
That was evidenced last weekend, when commissioner Rob Manfred visited the Phillies clubhouse in an attempt to find common ground with the players. Instead, what happened was a heated argument between Manfred and the Phillies players, in which star Bryce Harper told Manfred to "get the f--- out of our clubhouse," according to ESPN's Jeff Passan.
In the end, it's clear that Manfred and the Phillies players did not get any closer in trust and instead potentially planted the seeds for another contentious labor fight. Here's a breakdown of what happened.
📲 Follow The Sporting News on WhatsApp
Bryce Harper-Rob Manfred confrontation, explained
Every year since the last lockout, Rob Manfred has visited each of the 30 teams to try improve his relationship with the players. Usually, those meetings aren't made public, but Manfred's visit with the Phillies got unusually heated, which was first reported by Hannah Keyser and Zach Crizer.
The Phillies players' gripe with Manfred appeared to be the potential for the league to institute a salary cap during the next CBA negotiations. During this hour-long meeting, Harper was frustrated by Manfred's discussion of the game's economics and reportedly told Manfred that the players "are not scared to lose 162 games" if the league does institute a salary cap, according to ESPN.
SN's MLB HQ: Live MLB scores | Updated MLB standings | Full MLB schedule
Harper, while holding a bat, stood up from his seat to address Manfred directly.
"If you want to speak about that, you can get the f--- out of our clubhouse," Harper said, via Passan. Manfred then responded to Harper by saying he was "not going to get the f--- out of here" before he finished the discussion.
Passan reports that outfielder Nick Castellanos tried to play peacekeeper a bit and allowed the meeting to continue by asking more questions.
"It was pretty intense, definitely passionate," Castellanos said, via 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."
DeCOURCY: Players' Association spin on MLB salary cap easily disproven by growth, success of other leagues
Is the MLB adding a salary cap?
The biggest topic of the impending CBA negotiations appears to be MLB suggesting that the two sides agree to a salary cap. Several owners seem to be ready for a cap, as the Dodgers, Mets and Yankees consistently spend more than the rest of the league.
Manfred has reportedly become more vocal about a salary cap during his meetings with players this year, but most players still aren't on board.
"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)," 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."
MORE: 14 players who could be traded at the MLB trade deadline
However, the MLBPA is staunchly against a salary cap, which would keep MLB as the only league without one in major American sports.
"Guys immediately understand that the reason they want that system is not because they want to pay players more," Bruce Meyer of the MLBPA said earlier this month, via The Athletic.
Even though the owners may want to add a salary cap, it will be a tough fight to actually get the players to agree to the system.