PHILADELPHIA — Phillies slugger Bryce Harper loves L.A. — well, at least the World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers‘ freewheeling spending on their way to a nearly $320 million payroll.
A two-time NL MVP, Harper was blunt Friday ahead of a three-game series with the champs about those in baseball who whine about the Dodgers’ payroll and signing of Japanese stars.
“I don’t know if people will like this,” Harper said, “but I feel like only losers complain about what they’re doing. I think they’re a great team and a great organization.”
Major League Baseball’s average salary broke the $5 million barrier on Opening Day for the first time, according to a study by The Associated Press.
The New York Mets, with Juan Soto‘s record $61.9 million pay, led MLB for the third straight Opening Day with a $322.6 million payroll, just ahead of the Dodgers at $319.5 million. Adding Blake Snell, Michael Conforto, Tanner Scott and Kirby Yates, the Dodgers boosted payroll by a big league-high $69 million from Opening Day last year.
Los Angeles’ payroll figure was held down by deferred payments. Shohei Ohtani‘s $70 million salary was discounted to a present-day value of $28.2 million because it won’t be paid in full until 2035, causing him to be listed as the 18th-highest-paid player. Other Dodgers with deferred payments include Mookie Betts, Tommy Edman, Freddie Freeman, Teoscar Hernandez, Scott, Will Smith and Snell.
The matchup between Harper and the NL East champion Phillies and Ohtani’s Dodgers had the city buzzing with another packed Citizens Bank Park.
Harper is in the seventh season of a $330 million, 13-year contract, at the time the largest deal in baseball history. The Phillies have also been big spenders in recent years under owner John Middleton and reached the playoffs three straight seasons. Phillies pitcher Zack Wheeler will earn $42 million as the second-highest-paid player in the game. The Phillies opened with a $283.3 million payroll, third-highest in baseball.
Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred said he received emails from fans concerned over the sport’s lack of a salary cap following an offseason spending spree by the Los Angeles Dodgers that sparked increased attention over the expiration of the collective bargaining agreement in December 2027.
“We need to pay attention to it and need to determine whether there are things that can be done to allay those kinds of concerns and make sure we have a competitive and healthy game going forward,” Manfred said in February.
Los Angeles had $353 million luxury tax payroll in winning last year’s World Series and had to pay a $103 million tax.
“That’s why guys want to go there and play. L.A.’s a great city to play in, obviously,” Harper said. “They’re at the mecca of kind of the world of everything — from food to nightlife to sports to the Dodgers to the Lakers to anybody. They’re going to continue to get guys, they’re going to pull guys from the sport. If that’s bullpen, or starting pitching, international players, anything like that, they’re doing what the Dodgers do.”
