‘Great for baseball’ if MLB players can play in 2028 Olympics

Bryce Harper is already vouching for big leaguers to play in the 2028 Olympics.

The Phillies star spoke with USA Today’s Bob Nightengale on Friday and made it clear where he stands as baseball returns to the Summer Games.

”I hope LA ’28 happens,” Harper said. “I’m hoping the next CBA agreement can happen where teams and players can come to an agreement on taking that two-week break, especially it being in our home country.

“It would be great for baseball. You talk about growing the game and being able to grow it at that, at the highest level would help out tremendously.”

United States’ Bryce Harper, left, Aaron Judge, center, and Alex Bregman sit in the team dugout prior to an exhibition baseball game against the Colorado Rockies Wednesday, March 4, 2026, in Scottsdale, Ariz. AP

Despite the growing popularity of the World Baseball Classic, Harper put the Summer Olympics on a much higher tier than the tournament, which kicked off on Wednesday.

“Obviously the WBC is great, but it’s not the Olympics,” Harper said. “That’s no disrespect to the WBC or anything. But everybody knows when the Olympics are on, everybody is watching. Doesn’t matter what sport it is. It could be the most random sport and it has all of the fans watching it.”

Baseball became an official Olympic sport in 1992, and stayed so until 2008, although major leaguers have never been allowed to play in the games.

After being removed from the Olympic program in 2012 and 2016, baseball returned in 2021 during the Tokyo games, although current MLB players were excluded.

In 2024, baseball was once again removed when the games headed to Paris.

Last month, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred appeared to be on the same page as Harper regarding the professional baseball players in the Olympics.

United States' Bryce Harper walks to the team dugout prior to an exhibition baseball game against the San Francisco Giants Tuesday, March 3, 2026, in Scottsdale, Ariz. — United States’ Bryce Harper walks to the team dugout prior to an exhibition baseball game against the San Francisco Giants Tuesday, March 3, 2026, in Scottsdale, Ariz. AP

“I think that we’re a lot closer to [an agreement] than the last time we talked about it,” Manfred said during the Winter Olympics. “There are some issues with the MLBPA that we just need to resolve. I sense a lot of momentum towards playing in L.A. in 2028. I think we’re going to get over those issues.

“I think people have come to appreciate that the Olympics on U.S. soil is a unique marketing opportunity for the game. I think we’ve got a lot of players interested in doing it and I feel pretty good about the idea that we’ll get there.”

[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]