Bryce Harper is packed up for Phillies spring training, whenever MLB lockout ends

Aug 14, 2023

Bryce Harper is packed up for Clearwater, even though there isn't much optimism that MLB spring training will start on time.

Harper posted a picture to Instagram Tuesday night with the caption "THAT TIME OF YEAR." Clothes, shoes, a Phillies bag tucked into the bottom-left corner.

Around the league, the report date for pitches and catchers had originally been scheduled for next week. Absent a quick agreement to resolve MLB's lockout, that won't be happening.

During the lockout, players on 40-man rosters have not been permitted to work out at their team's facilities. Players like J.T. Realmuto and Alec Bohm, who maintain residences in Clearwater, have not been allowed to get their work at the Phillies' spring training complex.

It's unclear how long it will take for teams to mobilize and be ready for spring training once an agreement is struck, but many of the travel restrictions from two summers ago, when the league and players spent months negotiating a return-to-play agreement, are less stringent.

This is the 11th full week of the lockout, MLB's first since 1990.

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