The Dodgers, Mets and Yankees have all shown interested in Twins outfielder Harrison Bader, reports Jorge Castillo of ESPN. The interest from the Dodgers was reported by Bob Nightengale of USA Today yesterday.
Bader, 31, has long been a useful big leaguer on account of his speed and defense. His offense has been more mercurial but he’s currently in the midst of what could be his best season at the plate. In 298 plate appearances, he already has 12 home runs. Only once in his career has he hit more than that, which was the 16 he hit in 2021. His 26.2% strikeout rate is a bit high but his 8.7% walk rate is his best mark in years.
On the whole, he has a .255/.336/.441 line this year. His 118 wRC+, a career high, indicates he has been 18% better than league average at the plate this year. Thanks to nine stolen bases and some quality glovework, he’s already been worth 2.0 wins above replacement on the year, in the eyes of FanGraphs.
The Twins seem to be pivoting to sell mode, at least in terms of guys who aren’t core pieces. They are 50-55, a record which puts them 5.5 games back of a playoff spot in the American League. It was reported last week that they were leaning towards making their rental players available. They flipped Chris Paddack to the Tigers earlier today. It’s likely that Bader, Christian Vázquez, Danny Coulombe, Ty France and Willi Castro will follow in the coming days.
Bader signed a one-year, $6.25MM deal with the Twins in the offseason. That guarantee came in the form of a $750K signing bonus, a $4MM salary, and a $1.5MM buyout on a mutual option. Mutual options are essentially never picked up by both sides, which is why Bader will be viewed as a rental. His buyout can also increase via plate appearance incentives. He would add $200K at 400, 425 and 450 plate appearances, then $450K at 475 and 500. He came into tonight’s game with 298 trips to the plate. His deal also has a $500K assignment bonus if he’s traded.
Though he has mostly been playing left field this year, that has been out of deference to Byron Buxton. Suitors calling the Twins will likely view Bader as a center fielder, since he’s perfectly capable of sliding back to that spot.
Even with the little extra bits in his contract, Bader’s price is still attractive. Some of the other notable center field options on the market are Cedric Mullins and Luis Robert Jr. Mullins is making $8.725MM and has been in a rough slump since April. Robert is making $15MM this year and is also owed at least a $2MM buyout on his $20MM club option for next year. He’s been hitting better lately but is having a bad season overall.
The Mets and Yankees would both be logical landing spots for Bader. He has already played for both New York clubs, so there’s already familiarity there. The Mets have already been connected to Robert and Mullins. They came into the year with Jose Siri and Tyrone Taylor as their center field options. Siri suffered a fractured shin a couple of weeks into the season and has been on the IL since. He still hasn’t started a rehab assignment. Taylor has a dismal .204/.260/.298 line at the plate this year.
Lately, Jeff McNeil has taken over the center field job. If the Mets were to acquire a center fielder, McNeil could move back to the infield. The Mets have a cluttered infield mix with Mark Vientos, Brett Baty, Ronny Mauricio and Luisangel Acuña. They are reportedly open to trading from that group of younger players, however, so it’s possible the roster gets shaken up in a few different ways this week.
For the Yankees, they just lost Aaron Judge to the injured list with a flexor strain. They now have a regular outfield alignment of Cody Bellinger, Trent Grisham and Jasson Domínguez. Bellinger and Grisham are both lefties while Domínguez is a switch-hitter who is far better against right-handed pitchers. Bringing in a righty bat like Bader to complement that group makes a lot of sense. Bader has fairly neutral splits in 2025 but has been better against lefties in his career. He has hit .248/.315/.461 against lefties for a 110 wRC+ overall, with a career .241/.307/.374 slash and 87 wRC+ against righties.
Both the Mets and the Yankees are third-time payors of the competitive balance tax. Both clubs are also above the top CBT threshold this year. That means each club faces a 110% tax bill for any spending they add to the ledger for the rest of the season. Bader’s relatively modest salary should therefore be appealing to both clubs for the same reason.
Photo courtesy of Matt Blewett, Imagn Images
Stay away from the Bronx. Flushing can have you back anytime
mlbnyyfan:
Nope. We don’t want him either.
I heard he come’s equipped with his own walking boot via trade?
If this is true, the Judge news must be worse than we know.
Per Pat Ragazzo: The Yankees are the frontrunner to land Dustin May. The Dodgers have been testing the waters regarding May, even though he’ll be a free agent after the season.
What is happening with Siri? Is he ever gonna come back?
Press the button on your phone and ask him.
Sometimes I forget he was ever on the team. Same with Nick Madrigal.
Thinking for Dustin May. Everson Pereira, Kyle Carr, and another prospect probably gets it done. Keep in mind he’s just a rental. The Dodgers are fully loaded with starters.
Cap, I’m curious what the Dodgers do this week as they have number of players coming of IL.
@Perksy- probably nothing to worry about with the Dodgers. I would be shocked if they aren’t playing in the World Series again this year.
Etiquette Violation: Any fluffing of Dodgers fans by any Yankees fan is considered lewd, crude, and obnoxious.
Bader would be nice for the Mets but Coulumbe or Duran would be nicer.
Yankees just want to give him another haircut!
Get a haircut damned hippy!
Nope, we good.
Ca$h dumpster diving again?
Yanks should deal for Coulombe.
Bader put up the same stats last year till the beggining of August. He proceeded to go something like 3 for 50 in his final 53 at bats. No thanks, he isn’t the huge upgrade that we need
DomingHoax probably being moved.
Wow, and here I thought we just picked up a 3b.
Is this via his agent? So he can pick up the $500k for being traded?
Unless they are trading Rice, Grisham or Dominguez, I don’t see how Bader fits on the roster in the Bronx. They just acquired Rosario. Peraza will likely be DFA in 10 days when Judge returns.
I would give Pereira a chance.
Don’t let the Yankees make bader cut his hair again.
Bader isn’t enough of an upgrade over McNeil to trade for. But if he is part of a RP trade? Wouldn’t hurt
He probably shouldn’t play in New York. His numbers are terrible. Stay in Minnesota and build your self up for free agency.
Yankees are now 22-29 in their last 51 games…..and now Judge is out and Schmidt is done for the year. Why the hell do we need to trade for yet another outfielder? Bring up Pierara or Jones and call it a day. Team is not going to win a title this year.
Jones isn’t ready and he’s so much admitted that himself. He needs to continue play everyday to continue his development and that isn’t going to happen on the big league team.