Outfielder Harrison Bader and the Giants have reached agreement on a two-year, $20.5 million deal, according to MLB Network insider Jon Heyman. The team has not confirmed the deal, which is pending a physical.
This was Bader’s third consecutive offseason as a free agent, but this time, he was coming off arguably the best year of his career. The 31-year-old — typically known better for his glove — set career highs basically across the board offensively, including in plate appearances (501), home runs (17), OBP (.347), OPS (.796) and OPS+ (117). He also reached 4 wins above replacement (WAR) for the second time in his career, per Baseball-Reference, joining 2021.
Bader began the season with the Twins after signing a one-year deal that included a mutual option for 2026 (which Bader subsequently declined). The Twins then sent him to the Phillies at the Trade Deadline, after which Bader took things to another level. In 50 games for Philadelphia, he hit .305/.361/.463 with five home runs and 16 RBIs for the NL East champions, while getting credit as a sparkplug for his high-energy style of play.
Unfortunately for both Bader and the Phillies, he didn’t get a full opportunity to extend that into October. After the club’s first-round bye, Bader exited Game 1 of the NL Division Series against the Dodgers with a hamstring injury and was limited to a bench role for the rest of the series, which Philly lost in four games.
Still, it was a fine season for Bader, who continued to provide strong outfield defense. While he played more corner outfield than usual in Minnesota, thanks to the presence of Byron Buxton, Bader shifted back exclusively to center in Philly. Overall, he recorded 7 Outs Above Average, per Statcast, tied for 18th among all outfielders.
Excluding the shortened 2020 season, Bader has ranked in at least the 90th percentile in that metric in every year of his career. Since 2018, his 76 OAA are easily the most among all outfielders. With Kevin Kiermaier retired, Toronto’s Daulton Varsho (54 OAA) is the closest outfielder to Bader over that span.
Bader, a third-round pick by the Cardinals in the 2015 Draft, played for St. Louis from 2017 until the 2022 Trade Deadline. But he has changed teams midseason in three of the past four seasons, while suiting up for the Cardinals, Yankees, Reds, Mets, Twins and Phillies.
