Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred and Philadelphia Phillies star Bryce Harper had a spirited exchange during a question-and-answer session between the commissioner and the team, according to a person with direct knowledge of the conversation.

The person spoke to the AP on Monday on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation. Phillies slugger Nick Castellanos previously confirmed some details from the meeting in interviews with The Bandwagon and ESPN.

Speaking before Philadelphia's game at the Chicago White Sox, Harper did not dispute the published descriptions of his confrontation with Manfred.

"I won't be getting into the details of what happened or how I felt or anything else like that," Harper said. "I don't think it does any good for anybody for that to happen. So, for me, I just, you know, trying to worry about baseball, trying to worry about everything in here."

Manfred met with the Phillies and Red Sox during their series last week in Philadelphia. The session with the Phillies lasted more than an hour.

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Manfred spoke with the NL team about the media landscape and working together to grow the sport, according to the person with knowledge of the conversation. At some point, Harper told Manfred if he was there to talk about a salary cap, he could "get the [expletive] out" of the clubhouse.

Baseball's collective bargaining agreement expires Dec. 1, 2026, and some players are concerned about a possible management push for a cap. A spokeswoman for the Major League Baseball Players Association declined comment on Monday night.

Harper is a two-time NL MVP and one of the game's marquee names, making his conversation with Manfred more noteworthy. The eight-time All-Star agreed to a $330 million, 13-year deal with the Phillies in February 2019.

"Obviously, I don't want that to happen in those meetings," Harper said. "I don't want those things to be out there. I think, you know, when we have meetings with the commissioner or anybody else that comes to our clubhouse, those are good meetings to have."

Manfred has been meeting with teams more often since he said in the aftermath of baseball's March 2022 labour agreement that he needed to work on his relationship with players.

"When I talk to the players, I don't try to convince them that a salary cap system would be a good thing," Manfred said during the All-Star break. "I identify a problem in the media business and explain to them that owners need to change to address that problem. I then identify a second problem that we need to work together and that is that there are fans in a lot of our markets who feel like we have a competitive balance problem."

Asked for his argument against a salary cap and why it's such an important issue for players, Harper responded: "I don't want to get into details as of right now." He also said he planned to remain vocal about labour issues behind closed doors — just as he has done in the past.

"I've talked labour and I've done it in a way that I don't need to talk to the media about it," he said. "I don't need it out there. It has nothing to do with media or anybody else. It's what we can as players and owners and everybody else can come together to try to make this game great."

Clase placed on paid leave as part of betting probe

Cleveland Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase has been placed on non-disciplinary paid leave as part of a Major League Baseball investigation into sports betting.

Clase, a three-time All-Star, becomes the second Guardians pitcher to be placed on leave in connection with a sports gambling probe. Luis Ortiz also is on non-disciplinary leave through Aug. 31.

It was unclear if the cases were related. The Guardians said in a statement that the organization "[has] been informed that no additional players or club personnel are expected to be impacted."

The 27-year-old Clase is 5-3 with 24 saves in 48 games this year, but he also has a career-high 3.23 ERA. The right-hander led the AL in saves in each of the previous three years and was believed to be on the market ahead of this week's MLB trade deadline.

"I'm not happy. This stinks," Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said before Monday night's game against visiting Colorado. "It's a different part of our game now because it's legal. Two of our guys are being investigated — and it hurts. It's an unfortunate situation."

Major League Baseball has been monitoring sports gambling more closely since a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in May 2018 struck down a federal law that had barred betting on football, basketball, baseball and other sports in most states.

MLB said in a statement that Clase — per an agreement with the players' association — had been placed on leave while the league "continues its sports betting investigation." It declined further comment.

Chris Antonetti, the president of baseball operations for the Guardians, said he was informed of the situation with Clase on Sunday. He met with his coaching staff and the players before the series opener against the Rockies.

Cleveland began the day in second place in the AL Central with a 52-53 record. Vogt said the plan is to go with a closer-by-committee approach for now.

The Ortiz investigation is related to in-game prop bets on two pitches thrown by the right-hander that received higher activity than usual during his starts at Seattle on June 15 and against St. Louis on June 27. The gambling activity on the pitches was flagged by a betting-integrity firm and forwarded to MLB.

The pair of Cleveland pitchers on leave comes after MLB suspended five players for gambling in June 2024, including a lifetime ban for San Diego Padres infielder Tucupita Marcano. MLB said Marcano placed 387 baseball bets totaling more than $150,000 with a legal sportsbook in 2022 and 2023.

Athletics pitcher Michael Kelly and three minor leaguers — San Diego pitcher Jay Groome, Arizona pitcher Andrew Saalfrank and Philadelphia infielder Jose Rodriguez — received one-year suspensions.

Umpire Pat Hoberg was fired by MLB in February for sharing his legal sports gambling accounts with a friend who bet on baseball games, and for intentionally deleting electronic messages pertinent to the league's investigation.

Tigers add hurler Paddack from Twins

The AL Central-leading Detroit Tigers acquired starting pitcher Chris Paddack from the division rival Minnesota Twins in a three-player trade on Monday to plug another injury-created vacancy in their rotation.

The Tigers announced right-hander Reese Olson will miss the remainder of the regular season with a strained shoulder suffered during his most recent bullpen session, joining right-hander Jackson Jobe on the shelf.

The Twins packaged Paddack and depth right-hander Randy Dobnak for catcher Enrique Jimenez, who was the Tigers' 14th-best prospect in MLB's preseason rankings.

The 29-year-old Paddack went 3-9 with a 4.95 ERA in 21 starts for the Twins this season, with 27 walks and 83 strikeouts in 111 innings and a .266 opponent batting average.

Acquired by Minnesota in a trade with San Diego right before the start of the 2022 season, Paddack made five starts that year before suffering the second torn UCL of his career and needing Tommy John surgery. He returned for the 2023 postseason in a bullpen role and slotted back in the rotation in what was an up-and-down, injury-affected 2024 season.

Paddack went 10-14 with a 4.88 ERA over 45 appearances with Minnesota, including 43 starts. The Tigers and Twins play seven more times this season, including a three-game series in Detroit next week, so he figures to face his former team soon.

The Tigers have struggled to find a fifth starter since Jobe, their top prospect and the third overall pick in the 2021 draft, needed Tommy John surgery in late May. Keider Montero filled the role for most of the season, but he has averaged fewer than five innings per appearance to put more pressure on an overloaded bullpen.