Bryce Harper Says MLB Can't Lose 'Momentum' With CBA Talks, Defends Dodgers Amid Salary Cap Buzz

MLB is seeking to add a salary cap in the next Collective Bargaining Agreement with the Major League Baseball Players Association, but getting it done isn't going to be easy.

Ahead of negotiations, Philadelphia Phillies star Bryce Harper said that the sport "is in a great position right now" and that implementing a salary cap might hurt the momentum that the game has.

"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's Alden Gonzalez. "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."

Those who want a salary cap often point to the back-to-back champion Los Angeles Dodgers, but Harper actually defended baseball's biggest superteam.

"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."

Earlier this week, the MLBPA called for "expanded free agency and salary arbitration rights along with almost doubling the major league minimum and increasing the money high-revenue teams share with the less-wealthy clubs," per the Associated Press. The union also requested a "'competitive integrity tax' that would penalize teams dropping below a payroll floor" and for the "luxury tax threshold to rise to $300 million next year."

The owners then proposed a salary cap that would limit payrolls to $245.3 million in 2027, along with a salary floor of $171.2 million.

If that salary cap were in effect today, six teams would be over the cap, while 15 teams would be under the salary floor.

"Our salary cap and floor proposal levels the playing field while sharing baseball revenue with the players 50-50 as we grow the game together," MLB spokesman Glen Caplin said on Thursday. "Further, by sharing media revenue equally as part of our proposal, we can address another top fan concern of local TV blackouts."

The last time owners requested a salary cap, it resulted in a strike from the MLBPA and the cancellation of much of the 1994 season, including the World Series.

Gonzalez noted that Harper and other players have concerns that a labor dispute in the social media era could hurt MLB's progress in attendance, ratings and international appeal, leading to damages in revenue.

Those in favor of a salary cap, including MLB commissioner Rob Manfred, point to the possibility of it leveling the playing field for mid- to small-market teams, but Harper and the players can make the argument that some of the top spenders, like the Boston Red Sox, New York Mets and Houston Astros, are on pace to miss the postseason.

While both sides will look to avoid a lengthy strike like the one in 1994, there appears to be a big gap to bridge before a new CBA is reached.