Bryce Harper Unfazed with Dodgers and Mets Spending: “It’s Great for the Players”

Bryce Harper sees the Dodgers and Mets throwing around Monopoly money like it’s nothing, and when he was asked about it as the Phillies arrived in Clearwater, Florida for Spring Training, his comments sound like he couldn’t care less.

While every baseball fan across America expects the road to the World Series to travel through Los Angeles or Queens, Bryce Harper doesn’t have a problem or really, care at all that the cash-burning Dodgers and “reloaded” Mets are flexing their financial muscles.

Bryce Harper: “I think it’s great for the players”

Yeah, I’m going to read as a polite way in saying “I literally do not give a shit.”

Sure, the Dodgers, already a juggernaut, added Blake Snell, Roki Sasaki, Tanner Scott, and Kirby Yates, pushing their payroll to an absurd $389 million.

The Mets, still riding high from their first NLCS appearance since 2015, handed Juan Soto a 15-year, $765 million contract, kept Pete Alonso and Sean Manaea, and ballooned their payroll to $331 million.

Bryce Harper doesn’t see a problem. In fact, he sees a reminder of how things should work in a league where teams like the Marlins and Pirates are content to spend pennies.

While some fans and analysts continue to complain about spending disparities across MLB—the Marlins, for example, sit at $70 million, roughly $300 million less than the Dodgers.

Harper isn’t complaining. He recognizes that the Phillies are right up there with the big boys, currently carrying a $288 million payroll and three straight postseason appearances to show for it.

“You expect [the Dodgers] to go out and do those things just like the Yankees did in the 2000s,” Harper said, per the Philadelphia Inquirer.

“It’s what kind of team they are. They get guys that defer money and do things the right way. … Obviously, the Mets are doing the same thing.”

Harper himself is one of seven Phillies earning at least $20 million this season. Zack Wheeler, fresh off a massive three-year, $126 million extension, leads the way at $42 million in 2025.

Scared of the Dodgers and/or Mets? Don’t show up for Opening Day

If you’re heading into the 2025 MLB season already waving the white flag to the Dodgers and Mets, then don’t even bother showing up for Opening Day.

This Phillies team won 90+ games last year and spent all season looking like a World Series-caliber squad. Yeah, the postseason collapse was a gut punch, but let’s not act like this team isn’t primed to make another run.

Bryce Harper knows it. He doesn’t care how much the Dodgers and Mets spent, because the Phillies are still built to win. Honestly, it might be best if those teams think otherwise.

The spending debate will rage on, but Harper doesn’t seem fazed. As long as the Phillies keep competing for titles, he and the Phillies will take on whoever is standing in their way—no matter how much they cost on paper.

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