Categories: News

Bryce Harper backs Blake Snell: ‘Somebody’s gotta say it’

Bryce Harper is entering his second season with the Phillies. (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Icon Sportswire)

Phillies star outfielder Bryce Harper weighed in on comments from Tampa Bay starting pitcher Blake Snell against Major League Baseball’s proposal of a 50/50 revenue share.

“He’s speaking the truth, bro”, said Harper while streaming on Twitch on Thursday. “Somebody’s gotta say it.”

Snell sparked debate earlier on his own Twitch account on Wednesday night after he spoke out against the recent revenue sharing proposal that was approved by MLB owners earlier this week.

To Snell, the risk of the disease combined with salaries that are already set to be prorated is enough compromise for the player’s take on. Further reducing salaries, like the proposal suggests, would be a deal-breaker:

“I gotta get my money. I’m not playing unless I get mine, okay? And that’s just the way it is for me. Like, I’m sorry you guys think differently, but the risk is way the hell higher and the amount of money I’m making is way lower. Why would I think about doing that?”

The new proposal came after the MLBPA came to an agreement with the league in late March on how this season would be handled. One of the key parts of this agreement was players receiving prorated salaries based on how many games were played, but taking no further pay cuts.

This new proposal changes that, and would be the first time revenue sharing with players became a part of MLB. This, combined with the health concern of playing during a pandemic, is why Snell, among others, like Nationals reliever Sean Doolittle

, have expressed their concern.

There are still other roadblocks standing in the way of the 2020 season starting, specifically getting approval from health officials on the current plan to use all 30 stadiums. But right now, the biggest thing to watch for is the growing rift between players and owners on this issue.