Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred confronted by Bryce Harper during meeting, AP source says

CHICAGO (AP) — Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred and Philadelphia Phillies star Bryce Harper had a spirited exchange during a question-and-answer session between the commissioner and the team, according to a person with direct knowledge of the conversation.

The person spoke to the AP on Monday on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation. Phillies slugger Nick Castellanos previously confirmed some details from the meeting in interviews with The Bandwagon and ESPN.

Speaking before Philadelphia's 6-2 loss at the Chicago White Sox, Harper did not dispute the published descriptions of his confrontation with Manfred.

“I won’t be getting into the details of what happened or how I felt or anything else like that,” Harper said. “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.”

Manfred met with the Phillies and Red Sox during their series last week in Philadelphia. The session with the Phillies lasted more than an hour.

Manfred spoke with the NL team about the media landscape and working together to grow the sport, according to the person with knowledge of the conversation. At some point, Harper told Manfred if he was there to talk about a salary cap, he could “get the (expletive) out” of the clubhouse.

Baseball’s collective bargaining agreement expires Dec. 1, 2026, and some players are concerned about a possible management push for a cap. A spokeswoman for the Major League Baseball Players Association declined comment on Monday night.

Harper is a two-time NL MVP and one of the game's marquee names, making his conversation with Manfred more noteworthy. The eight-time All-Star agreed to a $330 million, 13-year deal with the Phillies in February 2019.

“Obviously, I don’t want that to happen in those meetings,” Harper 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."

Manfred and some owners have cited payroll disparity as one of baseball's biggest problems, while at the same time MLB is working to address a revenue decline from regional sports networks. Unlike the NFL, NBA and NHL, baseball has never had a salary cap because its players staunchly oppose one.

Manfred has been meeting with teams more often since he said in the aftermath of baseball's March 2022 labor agreement that he needed to work on his relationship with players.

“When I talk to the players, I don’t try to convince them that a salary cap system would be a good thing,” Manfred said during the All-Star break. “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.”

Asked for his argument against a salary cap and why it's such an important issue for players, Harper responded: “I don’t want to get into details as of right now.” He also said he planned to remain vocal about labor issues behind closed doors — just as he has done in the past.

“I’ve talked labor and I’ve done it in a way that I don’t need to talk to the media about it,” he said. “I don’t need it out there. It has nothing to do with media or anybody else. It’s what we can as players and owners and everybody else can come together to try to make this game great.”

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Philadelphia Phillies' Bryce Harper reacts after hitting a home run against Boston Red Sox pitcher Lucas Giolito during the first inning of a baseball game Wednesday, July 23, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Philadelphia Phillies' Bryce Harper, right, watches Chicago White Sox starting pitcher Davis Martin (not shown) during the first inning of a baseball game in Chicago, Monday, July 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Philadelphia Phillies' Bryce Harper looks to the field after striking out swinging during the first inning of a baseball game against the Chicago White Sox in Chicago, Monday, July 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Philadelphia Phillies' Bryce Harper runs after hitting a two-run double during the third inning of a baseball game against the Chicago White Sox in Chicago, Monday, July 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Philadelphia Phillies' Bryce Harper flips his bat as he pops out to Chicago White Sox third baseman Colson Montgomery in foul territory during the seventh inning of a baseball game in Chicago, Monday, July 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Philadelphia Phillies' Bryce Harper hits a two-run double during the third inning of a baseball game against the Chicago White Sox in Chicago, Monday, July 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Philadelphia Phillies' Bryce Harper reacts after hitting a home run against Boston Red Sox pitcher Lucas Giolito during the first inning of a baseball game Wednesday, July 23, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said he’s dropping — for now — his push to deploy National Guard troops in Chicago, Los Angeles and Portland, Oregon, a move that comes after legal roadblocks held up the effort.

“We will come back, perhaps in a much different and stronger form, when crime begins to soar again - Only a question of time!" he said in a social media post Wednesday.

Governors typically control states' National Guardsmen, and Trump had deployed troops to all three cities against the wishes of state and local Democratic leaders. He said it was necessary as part of a broader crackdown on immigration, crime and protests.

The president has made a crackdown on crime in cities a centerpiece of his second term — and has toyed with the idea of invoking the Insurrection Act to stop his opponents from using the courts to block his plans. He has said he sees his tough-on-crime approach as a winning political issue ahead of next year’s midterm elections.

Troops had already left Los Angeles after the president deployed them earlier this year as part of a broader crackdown on crime and immigration.

In his post, Trump said the troops' presence was responsible for a drop in crime in the three cities, though they were never on the streets in Chicago and Portland as legal challenges played out. When the Chicago deployment was challenged in court, a Justice Department lawyer said the Guard’s mission would be to protect federal properties and government agents in the field, not “solving all of crime in Chicago.”

Portland Mayor Keith Wilson’s office in a statement said the city’s reduction in crime was due to the efforts of local police and public safety programs. Chicago officials echoed the sentiment, saying in a release Tuesday that the city had 416 homicides in 2025 — the fewest since 2014.

Trump’s push to deploy the troops in Democrat-led cities has been met with legal challenges at nearly every turn.

The Supreme Court in December refused to allow the Trump administration to deploy National Guard troops in the Chicago area. The order was not a final ruling but was a significant and rare setback by the high court for the president’s efforts.

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker wrote on X Wednesday that Trump “lost in court when Illinois stood up against his attempt to militarize American cities with the National Guard. Now Trump is forced to stand down.”

Hundreds of troops from California and Oregon were deployed to Portland, but a federal judge barred them from going on the streets. A judge permanently blocked the deployment of National Guard troops there in November after a three-day trial.

Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek said in a statement Wednesday that her office had not yet received “official notification that the remaining federalized Oregon National Guard troops can return home. They were never lawfully deployed to Portland and there was no need for their presence. If President Trump has finally chosen to follow court orders and demobilize our troops, that’s a big win for Oregonians and for the rule of law.”

Trump's decision to federalize National Guard troops began in Los Angeles in June, when protesters took to the streets in response to a blitz of immigration arrests in the area. He deployed about 4,000 troops and 700 Marines to guard federal buildings and, later, to protest federal agents as they carried out immigration arrests.

The number of troops slowly dwindled until just several hundred were left. They were removed from the streets by Dec. 15 after a lower court ruling that also ordered control to be returned to Gov. Gavin Newsom. But an appeals court had paused the second part of the order, meaning control remained with Trump. In a Tuesday court filing, the Trump administration said it was no longer seeking a pause in that part of the order.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on Wednesday ordered the Trump administration to return control of the National Guard to Newsom.

“About time (Trump) admitted defeat,” Newsom said in a social media post. “We’ve said it from day one: the federal takeover of California’s National Guard is illegal.”

Troops will remain on the ground in several other cities. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in December paused a lower court ruling that had called for an end to the deployment of National Guard troops in Washington, D.C., where they’ve been deployed since August after Trump declared a “crime emergency.”

Trump also ordered the deployment of the Tennessee National Guard to Memphis in September as part of a larger federal task force to combat crime, a move supported by the state’s Republican Gov. Bill Lee and senators. A Tennessee judge blocked the use of the Guard, siding with Democratic state and local officials who sued. However, the judge stayed the decision to block the Guard as the state appeals, allowing the deployment to continue.

In New Orleans, about 350 National Guard troops deployed by Trump arrived in the city's historic French Quarter on Tuesday and are set to stay through Mardi Gras to help with safety. The state's Republican governor and the city's Democratic mayor support the deployment.

Ding reported from Los Angeles. Associated Press reporters John O'Connor in Springfield, Illinois, Becky Bohrer in Juneau, Alaska, Jack Brook in New Orleans and Adrian Sanz in Memphis contributed.

FILE - A protester confronts a line of U.S. National Guard members in the Metropolitan Detention Center of downtown Los Angeles, Sunday, June 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer, File)

FILE - Protesters stand off against California National Guard soldiers at the Federal Building in downtown Los Angeles, during a "No Kings" protest, June 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel, File)

President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at Mar-a-Lago, Monday, Dec. 29, 2025, in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)