(This story has been updated with new information)

Ahead of a three-game series against the Chicago White Sox, two-time National League MVP Bryce Harper did not dispute the July 28 report by ESPN’s Jeff Passan that he cussed out MLB commissioner Rob Manfred in a recent encounter in the Philadelphia Phillies’ clubhouse.

The Phillies All-Star first baseman didn’t go further into the encounter when meeting with reporters on Monday, July 28 at Rate Field in Chicago, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Scott Lauber and Lochlahn March.

‘Everybody saw the words and everything that happened, but I don’t want to say anything more than that,’ Harper said. ‘I want to focus on my teammates, and our union as a whole, and just worry about winning baseball.’

He added: ‘I’ve talked labor, and I’ve done it in a way that I don’t need to talk to the media about it. I don’t need it out there. It has nothing to do with media or anybody else. … I’ve always been very vocal, just not in a way that people can see.’

According to Passan’s report, Harper stood ‘nose to nose’ with Manfred, telling him to ‘get the (expletive) out of our clubhouse’ if the commissioner wanted to talk about the potential addition of a salary cap. Manfred was conducting one of his annual meetings with each MLB team, which resulted in tension with one of the league’s biggest stars.

ESPN reported Manfred never explicitly mentioned a salary cap, however, discussions of MLB’s economics frustrated Harper.

‘Young players need to talk with veterans like Harp. Harp has been fighting the consequences of caps his whole life,’ Harper’s agent, Scott Boras told The Athletic. ‘… Harp knows what caps can do to players’ rights, especially young players.’

That wasn’t the only heated moment to take place inside the Phillies’ clubhouse last week. According to The Athletic’s Evan Drellich and Matt Gelb, MLB Network analyst Mark DeRosa, a former MLB utility player, was also in the clubhouse alongside Manfred and said something that ‘some players took as a threat.’

‘The commissioner’s a powerful guy, don’t (expletive) around with him,’ The Athletic reported on the tone of DeRosa’s message in the Phillies clubhouse last week. DeRosa, who co-hosts MLB Network’s ‘MLB Central’ every weekday morning and holds an additional position role with MLB (which primarily owns MLB Network), told The Athletic he was ‘just joking’ with his comments.

‘Shame on me for thinking I had a better relationship with some of the players in there than I guess I do,’ DeRosa, who who is once again managing Team USA in the 2026 World Baseball Classic, told the outlet. ‘The comment I made was completely in jest, completely kidding, amongst a group of about 10-12 players. Guys were laughing, guys were joking. I had managed some of them with Team USA, I had played with Bryce in 2012. Literally making a joke.’

The tensions come as MLB and the MLB Players Association’s collective-bargaining agreement expires on Dec. 1, 2026. MLB owners and personnel alike have clamored for a salary cap implementation, as the league is the lone professional sport without one in North America.

ESPN added the MLBPA overwhelmingly opposes a salary cap.

According to Passan, Harper said if MLB were to propose a salary cap, players ‘are not scared to lose 162 games.’ After Harper stood up to Manfred, who was standing in the middle of the room, Manfred said he was ‘not going to get the (expletive) out of here.’

Phillies outfielder Nick Castellanos attempted to defuse the situation, according to the report. Harper and Manfred shook hands after the meeting, although Harper declined a phone call from Manfred the next day.

‘It was pretty intense, definitely passionate,’ Castellanos told ESPN. ‘Both of ’em. The commissioner giving it back to Bryce and Bryce giving it back to the commissioner. That’s Harp. He’s been doing this since he was 15 years old. It’s just another day. I wasn’t surprised.’

Harper and Manfred both declined to comment to ESPN.

The current CBA, which was agreed upon in 2022, ended a 99-day lockout as the two sides negotiated terms. A potential salary cap implementation is one of the biggest current talking points of the next deal, which will be needed ahead of the 2027 season.

‘(Manfred) seems to be in a pretty desperate place on how important it is to get this salary cap because he’s floating the word ‘lockout’ two years in advance of our collective bargaining agreement (expiration),’ Castellanos told ESPN. ‘That’s nothing to throw around. That’s the same thing as me saying in a marriage, ‘I think divorce is a possibility. It’s probably going to happen.’ You don’t just say those things.’

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As MLB trade deadline week heats up, one of the top targets on the market has received a scare.

In the top of the ninth inning of a 5-1 loss to the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park in Detroit on Monday, July 28, Arizona Diamondback third baseman Eugenio Suárez took a 96 mph fastball to his left hand from Tigers right-hander Will Vest.

Suárez, who is hitting .248 on the season with 36 home runs and 87 RBIs, was immediately tended to by a member of the Diamondbacks training staff before exiting the game in what appeared to be significant pain. He briefly fell down on his knees after the hit by the pitch while holding his hand.

USA TODAY Sports’ Bob Nightengale confirmed that Suárez underwent X-rays, which came back negative. Diamondback manager Torey Lovullo told reporters that Suárez’s left hand and finger were ‘tender to the touch,’ according to The Athletic’s Cody Stavenhagen. Lovullo added that Suárez is day-to-day for now.

‘The good thing right now is we did the X-ray, and it was negative,’ Suárez said after the game. ‘We got more tests to do tomorrow. Right now, it’s painful, obviously.

‘The good news is the X-ray was negative. We’ll see tomorrow what else they’re going to do. Right now, I will do my best to try to be back soon.’

The Diamondbacks TV broadcast mentioned that they were able to hear the sound of Suárez getting drilled in the hand from the broadcast booth in Detroit.

Monday night’s event in Detroit is the second time in a matter of weeks that Suárez has taken a pitch to his left hand. He exited the All-Star Game on July 15 in the eighth inning after being hit by Chicago White Sox right-hander Shane Smith, for which X-rays came back negative.

Suárez has been one of the hottest names being shopped around by the Diamondbacks, who began their sell on July 24 by trading away Josh Naylor to the Seattle Mariners. USA TODAY Sports’ Bob Nightengale most recently reported on July 25 that the Mariners and New York Yankees have had talks with the Diamondbacks about their All-Star third baseman, with several other teams being linked to Suárez in other reports.

The MLB trade deadline closes at 6 p.m. ET on Thursday, July 31.

(This story was updated to add new information.)

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Training camp has arrived for all 32 NFL teams which means fantasy football draft season is fast approaching.

Preparation is key for drafting a fantasy team. A good draft strategy and the right group of players are essential for building a winning team. And one of the most important, make-or-break positions to get right in a draft is wide receiver.

Unfortunately, the position is also one that can feature high volatility from year to year. For instance, Miami Dolphins wideout Tyreek Hill led the league in receiving yards and touchdowns in 2023 then failed to surpass 1,000 receiving yards in 2024.

Because of that difficulty in projections and in honor of fantasy football ramping back up, USA TODAY Sports has ranked the top 50 wide receivers ahead of the 2025 fantasy football season.

Fantasy football rankings: WR

1. Justin Jefferson, Minnesota Vikings. Jefferson proved over the last two years that it doesn’t matter who’s throwing him the ball, he’s going to put up big numbers.

Major League Baseball lost another one of its titans and Hall of Famers with the passing of Chicago Cubs legend Ryne Sandberg.

Sandberg, who was a 10-time All-Star in his career, passed away at the age of 65 on Monday, July 28, after another battle with metastatic prostate cancer that had returned and spread to other organs in his body back in December.

‘Ryne Sandberg was a legend of the Chicago Cubs franchise and a beloved figure throughout Major League Baseball,’ MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement.

Added the Cubs on X (formerly Twitter): ‘Ryne Sandberg was a hero to a generation of Chicago Cubs fans and will be remembered as one of the all-time greats in nearly 150 years of this historic franchise. His dedication to and respect for the game, along with his unrelenting integrity, grit, hustle, and competitive fire were hallmarks of his career.’

Across his 16-year career, Sandberg built quite a resume when it came to awards, as he was a nine-time Gold Glove winner, seven-time Silver Slugger and was named the 1984 National League Most Valuable Player. He also managed the Philadelphia Phillies, who drafted him in the 20th round of the 1978 MLB Draft, from 2013-2015, where he posted a managerial record of 119-159.

Sandberg’s death has also brought in an outpouring of reactions from those on social media. Here’s a snippet of those reactions:

Baseball reacts to Ryne Sandberg’s death

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OK, so it’s not the 1919 Chicago White Sox scandal.

The Cleveland Guardians are not being accused of throwing games.

Now, if you’re talking about bad judgment, with two pitchers potentially betting on baseball or having an association with known gamblers, we’re about to find out if they also threw away their entire baseball careers.

Guardians All-Star closer Emmanuel Clase, considered one of the best relievers in the game and who certainly could have brought the Guardians a haul of prized prospects at the trade deadline, was placed on non-disciplinary paid leave on Monday through Aug. 31 as MLB launches an investigation of whether he violated the league’s gambling policy.

Clase joins his close friend, Guardians pitcher Luis Ortiz, who was placed on paid leave July 3 after unusual gambling activity on two pitches that he threw far outside the strike zone in June this season. Gamblers wagered high amounts of money on whether those two pitches would result in a ball or hit batsmen.

It was during MLB’s investigation with Ortiz when Clase’s name suddenly surfaced. He was not under investigation at the time Ortiz was forced to take a leave of absence. Now, three weeks later, Clase is also under investigation for potentially gambling on games in which he performed, facing a lifetime ban if found guilty.

The Guardians said in a statement that “no additional players or club personnel are expected to be impacted’ by the investigation. It’s certainly possible that another player or employee surfaces in the gambling investigation, but the Guardians’ sentiments were echoed by MLB officials, who have no knowledge of improprieties involving players from any other team during this investigation.

Clase, 27, would be the highest-profile player since Pete Rose nearly 40 years ago if proven that he bet on baseball games in which he played. Rose received a lifetime ban from baseball in 1989 for gambling on Cincinnati Reds games when he managed. Rose died last September, but was reinstated by commissioner Rob Manfred, making him eligible to be placed on the Hall of Fame ballot.

Clase is a three-time All-Star and two-time winner of the Mariano Rivera award as the American League’s best reliever. He finished third in the Cy Young race last year with a 0.61 ERA, and his career 1.88 ERA is the second-lowest among relievers who have pitched at least 100 games.

Clase is in the fourth year of a five-year, $20 million contract. He is being paid $4.5 million this year with a guaranteed salary of $6 million in 2026 and $10 million club options in 2027 and 2028.

Guardians president Chris Antonetti addressed the team Monday afternoon and says that their players are well educated on the dangers of sports gambling in spring training, with signs on the clubhouse walls reminding them of the dangers and potential repercussions.

Certainly, no matter what the outcome of the investigation, it certainly is a gut-punch to the Guardians’ postseason hopes. They are 3½ games out of a wild-card berth and suddenly don’t have their closer for at least the next 4½ weeks.

“Two very good pitchers aren’t going to be available to pitch for us in the near term,’’ Antonetti told Cleveland reporters, “and so we have to assess how that impacts our thinking.”

For now, all the Guardians know is that two pitchers are under investigation for violating baseball’s No. 1 rule, with their careers in limbo if discovered that they were involved in any way with gamblers.

It was five years ago that Clase received an 80-game suspension for testing positive for Boldenone, a banned substance, delaying his Guardians’ career before leading the American League in saves three consecutive seasons.

Now, if found guilty, it abruptly ends his Guardians career, and begs the question heard ‘round baseball:

Who’s next?

Follow Bob Nightengale on X @Bnightengale.