Bryce Harper, Shohei Ohtani, Aaron Judge endorse MLB players in the 2028 Olympics, an idea that might be gaining steam

Close your eyes and picture this: It’s July 14, 2028, opening ceremonies of the Summer Olympics, and athletes are parading into the historic Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. At the head of the American contingent, holding the flag aloft, decked out in a stars-and-stripes tracksuit, is Mike Trout.

To his left, Mookie Betts. On Trout’s right, Bryce Harper.

Harper has had variations of that dream for years. At least since 2009, when he played for an under-18 U.S. national team that won gold at the Pan Am junior world championships. Ten future major leaguers, including Manny Machado and Nick Castellanos, were on that roster. But for the time of their lives, good luck topping those eight games in Venezuela — with “USA” printed on their jerseys.

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“Putting the nation’s colors on your chest, there’s nothing like it,” Harper said. “There’s no greater feeling than going into another country and winning and hearing your anthem blast.”

It’s a scene that has played out intermittently in the Olympics. Baseball became a full-fledged medal sport in 1992 in Barcelona but was dropped after the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing. It returned in Tokyo in 2021 before being left off the program this year in Paris.

One constant, though: MLB players weren’t allowed to compete. The U.S. team was comprised of college players and minor leaguers who weren’t on 40-man rosters.

But the International Olympic Committee voted last October to reinstate baseball in 2028 in Los Angeles. And although logistical — and in many cases, financial — hurdles still must be cleared, there’s a groundswell of support to fling open the doors the best players in the world, many of whom would jump at a chance to go for the gold.

Harper never misses an opportunity to stump for major leaguers in the Olympics. He discussed it at a postseason news conference last year and brought it up again in June when the Phillies played on an international stage in London. He said he has shared his feelings with commissioner Rob Manfred.

“There’s nothing more worldwide than the Olympics,” Harper said. “I watch the most random sports in the Olympics because it’s the Olympics, and that’s really cool. You talk about growing the game, that’s the way you grow it. At the highest peak.”

It isn’t only Harper, though. When Trout committed to playing for Team USA in last year’s World Baseball Classic, Harper was the first player he texted. Together, they reached out to some of the biggest names in the sport — Betts and Trea Turner, Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado, J.T. Realmuto and Pete Alonso — and landed many of their targets.

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Judging from a sampling of reactions at the All-Star Game last week, interest in playing in the Olympics would be even stronger, with players from several countries expressing enthusiasm. Two of the biggest stars in the sport even offered what amounted to full-throated endorsements.

“If it’s possible, I would like to play in the Olympics,” Shohei Ohtani said through an interpreter. “Knowing the fact that there will be nonbaseball fans watching the game as well, I think it’s going to be really good for the baseball industry.”

Said Aaron Judge: “If we got a chance to bring baseball back to the Summer Olympics, and you get a chance to have all these guys that are sitting here with me in those games, I think it’s not only great for the Olympics but great for MLB. They get a chance to showcase their players on a worldwide stage. I know a lot of guys here would love to do that. We’ll see if we can get it done.

What’s standing in the way? Two factors, in particular.

In the past, MLB pointed to the calendar as the reason for sitting out the Olympics. Unlike the NHL, which put its season on ice (sorry) to allow players to compete in the Olympics from 1998 to 2014, MLB owners have been unwilling to press pause.

But Manfred claims he’s “open-minded” about 2028.

“It is an opportunity that we need to think about,” Manfred said at the All-Star Game. “And I should say this, too: There’s players’ interest on this topic. So that’s important.”

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The owners figure to be a tougher sell. In February, Manfred invited LA 2028 chairman Casey Wasserman to speak at the league owners’ meetings in Florida. Wasserman, who runs an eponymous sports and entertainment agency, has lobbied Manfred for MLB participation in the Olympics. But Manfred wanted the owners to hear from him directly.

Manfred described Wasserman’s presentation as “very persuasive.” At least a few owners must’ve agreed because Manfred said he met with Wasserman again a few weeks ago.

“We’re talking about what can be done?” Manfred said. “What exactly would it look like? What are the compromises that we would have to make in terms of our season?”

Logistically, it may not be as challenging as it seems.

In 2028, the Olympics are scheduled to run from July 14-30. Wasserman reportedly outlined an eight-country baseball tournament that would be played within six or seven days at Dodger Stadium and Angel Stadium. It essentially would replace the All-Star Game and require only that MLB extend its usual four-day break by another two or three days. If the season started three days earlier, or ended three days later, teams still could squeeze in 162 games.

There would be other considerations, mostly financial. MLB’s television deal with Fox, which runs through 2028 and is worth $729 million per year, includes the All-Star Game. Unlike the World Baseball Classic, which is run by MLB, the league wouldn’t control the revenues from an Olympic tournament played in two major-league ballparks.

But those issues hardly seem insurmountable, especially considering the payoff.

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MLB has played regular-season games in Japan, Australia, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, South Korea, Mexico, and Great Britain. Nothing would compare to the Olympics, in which the eyes of the world would be on the sport for a week.

Remember the impact on the NBA’s popularity — at home and abroad — when Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, and the rest of the Dream Team assembled in Barcelona in 1992? Imagine Betts, Judge, Harper, and Trout — they will be 35, 37, 36, and 36, respectively, in July 2028 — in a U.S. lineup with prime-age stars Bobby Witt Jr., Gunnar Henderson, and Corbin Carroll, and Paul Skenes on the mound.

Now, imagine them facing equally loaded rosters from Japan, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, and the Dominican Republic.

“We have the WBC, but it’s not the same,” Harper said. “The WBC is great and brings a lot of people together, but the Olympics is something you dream about playing in. If I have a chance to put my nation’s colors on and represent as I did at 18 and 16, I would love it.”

Like many pitchers, Zack Wheeler passed on participating in the World Baseball Classic last year in favor of a normal spring training to prepare for the major-league season.

The Phillies ace suspects he would feel a similar obligation if Team USA came calling for the Olympics.

“It’d be awesome to win a gold medal for your country, but, at the same time, you’re playing the MLB season every year, and you’re playing with a group of guys, getting paid to do it,” Wheeler said. “This is our job. This is what I’m concentrated on. As much as I’d love to do [the Olympics], this is where my stressful innings need to be. I don’t need to be going there and getting hurt.”

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Indeed, injuries will be a concern for some players, especially pitchers. A team’s World Series chances could go up in smoke if a star player got hurt in the Olympics.

Owners will want to know how players’ contracts would be insured in the event of injuries. Would USA Baseball, for example, or the IOC help cover some of that cost?

“A lot of people would love the opportunity to play in the Olympics just because it doesn’t happen that much,” Wheeler said. “And, of course, you want to win for your country. I don’t know. It would be tough.

“If you go there and get hurt, your teammates might look at you a little differently.”

An agreement to allow players to go to the Olympics would have to be negotiated with the MLB Players Association. There’s time for further discussion. The collective bargaining agreement runs through the 2026 season.

So far, MLBPA executive director Tony Clark said at the All-Star Game that membership seems to be in favor of giving it a try.

Maybe MLB will actually get on board this time.

“The Olympics is something that, as a youngster, regardless of sport, you watch on TV and you aspire to participate in,” Clark said. “The feedback that we’ve gotten so far from players is such that there is an interest in participating if given an opportunity. That’ll be a conversation we’ll look to have.”