After Bryce Harper-Rob Manfred confrontation, Mark DeRosa warned Phillies of commish’s power

After Philadelphia Phillies star Bryce Harper got in the face of Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred during a heated meeting last week, Mark DeRosa, a former big leaguer who now works for Manfred, said something some players took as a threat, according to four people who attended the meeting or were briefed on it. “The commissioner’s a powerful guy, don’t f— around with him,” was the tone of DeRosa’s message. Some players were angry at his implication that a commissioner, who has oversight of so many on- and off-field personnel and processes in the sport, could retaliate if they didn’t fall in line with what a commissioner wants, the sources said. After DeRosa’s statement, a player in the room raised the possibility of MLB using the drug-testing program as a means of retribution. However, DeRosa, an MLB Network broadcaster and 16-year major-league veteran, said he was just joking when reached by The Athletic. “Shame on me for thinking I had a better relationship with some of the players in there than I guess I do,” said DeRosa, who is also the manager of Team USA during the World Baseball Classic. “The comment I made was completely in jest, completely
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