The Phillies announced the acquisition of outfielder Harrison Bader from the Twins. Minnesota receives two prospects: outfielder Hendry Mendez and right-hander Geremy Villoria. Philadelphia designated reliever Brett de Geus for assignment to clear a 40-man roster spot.
Bader, 31, has been a solid big leaguer for years. He is one of the best outfield defenders in the league, with career tallies of 63 Defensive Runs Saved and 76 Outs Above Average. That DRS total is fifth-best among outfielders since the start of 2017, while the OAA total tops the leaderboard.
His offense has been up-and-down but he’s currently on pace to have his best season at the plate. In 307 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 26.4% strikeout rate is a bit high but his 8.8% walk rate is his best mark in years.
On the whole, he has a .258/.339/.439 line this year. His 117 wRC+, a career high, indicates he has been 17% better than league average at the plate this year. Thanks to ten 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 have pivoted to sell mode recently. They are 51-57 and 5.5 games out of a playoff spot. This the second deal they have lined up with the Phillies, as they already sent Jhoan Durán to Philadelphia. They also traded Chris Paddack to the Tigers and Brock Stewart to the Dodgers.
Bader has long been seen as likely to go, since he’s an impending free agent. He 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 has been 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. As mentioned, he’s currently at 307 plate appearances.
His deal also has a $500K assignment bonus if he’s traded. Per Bobby Nightengale of the Minnesota Star Tribune, the Twins aren’t including any money in this deal, so it seems the Phils will take on the remaining salary and the buyout on the option. There’s about $1.3MM of salary left. The buyout, as mentioned, is $1.5MM but can increase.
Money aside, Bader is a great fit for the Phillies. They have been looking for outfield help and right-handed bat. Bader ticks both boxes. Nick Castellanos is cemented in right, but he’s a league-average bat with horrible defensive metrics. Johan Rojas is the opposite, as he’s a great defender who doesn’t hit. Brandon Marsh and Max Kepler are a bit less extreme. They’re both good defenders in a corner but a bit stretched in center. They both can hit but are left-handed hitters who do more damage with the platoon advantage. Kepler is also now battling a triceps injury, per Lochlahn March of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Bader has largely been playing left field for the Twins out of deference to Byron Buxton. He should be able to pivot back to center for the Phils. That should allow for Rojas, Kepler and Marsh to all be used more selectively. Bader has pretty even platoon splits this year but his career splits are more extreme, with a .248/.315/.461 line versus lefties and a .242/.307/.374 slash against righties. Kepler recently expressed some dissatisfaction with being platooned but he hasn’t helped his cause with a .196/.250/.314 line against southpaws this year.
Mendez, 21, was originally a Brewers prospect. He came to the Phils in a November 2023 trade which sent infielder Oliver Dunn to the Brewers. Dunn was a minor league Rule 5 pick out of the Yankees’ system, making a fairly unusual trade tree for this move.
Since Mendez has come over the Phils, he’s been great at the plate. He spent last year at High-A and has been at Double-A this year. He has stepped to the plate 722 times in those two seasons with a 12.7% walk rate, 13.3% strikeout rate, .287/.380/.412 batting line and 131 wRC+. Baseball America lists him as the #17 prospect in the system. Their report notes that he hits the ball incredibly hard but too often into the ground. He’s not considered a strong outfield defender, so his development as a hitter will be key.
He is eligible for the Rule 5 draft this winter. Perhaps the Phils weren’t going to add him to their 40-man roster or were on the fence about it. The Twins will need to add him this fall if they don’t want him to be exposed.
Villoria, 16, was an international signing of the Phils out of Venezuela. He just signed with the Phils this year out of for a $425K bonus and has 14 professional innings under his belt in the Dominican Summer League. His youth and inexperience naturally make him a long-term play. Baseball America notes that he can already get up to the mid-90s with his fastball and he also has a high-spin slider as well as a changeup.
For the Phils, they’re adding a bit of money to their books but they’re usually not afraid to do that and they’ve clearly got a foot on the gas pedal here. Their core players are mostly in their mid-30s, so they made a bold strike by giving up notable prospects in the Durán deal. Here, they’ve given up a few prospects but not top guys.
They are a third-time payor of the competitive balance tax and over the top tier, meaning they will face a 110% tax rate on Bader’s remaining salary and the buyout. Between the salary and buyout, he’s owed at least $2.8MM, so the Phils will also have to pay over $3MM in taxes on that.
For the Twins, they add a couple of extra prospects from a player who was set to depart in free agency anyway. It’s possible that saving money is a goal for them this week. They could have included money here to ask for a greater prospect return but didn’t do so. They also included Randy Dobnak’s contract in the Paddack deal, seemingly to save a few million bucks. They could still move Willi Castro, Danny Coulombe, Ty France and Christian Vázquez before the day is done, as they are all impending free agents. If they’re willing to move another controllable player like they did in the Duran deal, Griffin Jax could be on the move as well.
Teams like the Mets, Yankees and Dodgers were also connected to Bader in recent weeks. Those teams could pivot to guys like Steven Kwan, Luis Robert Jr., Cedric Mullins and/or Ramón Laureano, who are thought to be available today.
ESPN’s Jeff Passan first reported the Phillies were closing in on a Bader deal for an outfield and pitching prospect. Matt Gelb of The Athletic had the return.
Photo courtesy of Matt Blewett, Jordan Johnson, Imagn Images
This can’t be the LF fix Dave.
As a Tigers fan… I honestly don’t miss those wild DD days.
Exciting? Sure. Frustrating and confusing? For sure.
But hey. I guess it’s better to almost go all the way every year and come up just short rather than not competing in the playoffs.
Dave’s problem with the Tigers is he could never build a bullpen.
100% agree. He will pay for an elite line up and rotation, but bullpen, nah. Super frustrating.
@tigers – DD did what he was asked to do in Detroit by papa Ilitch…spend and trade to win now. He was asked to do the same in Boston.
His approach in Montreal and in Miami was different as the circumstances were different. He knows how to draft and develop, play at the margins and build a pen.
In Philly he has been masterful, taking over from an organization that was in really bad shape from the Klentak / MacPhail era. The pen got better every year and was very good last season…this one took a step back but right now it is again a very strong group after today.
Fan narratives are usually based upon myth that is repeated again and again.
He now knows how to build a pen. Didn’t then.
At this point, DD has put together an excellent, World Series contending roster. If they don’t get it done, the blame is not him that’s on the team and the manager.
The Tigers backend relievers in the Dombrowski era… Joaquin Benoit. Todd Jones. Jose Valverde (good for one season). Fernando Rodney. And there were never strong set up relievers.
I will never forget the David Ortiz home run off Benoit in the 2013 ALCS. Cost us a trip to the World Series. That team was absolutely loaded everywhere except the bullpen.
I remember Sam. Looking back at that line up and rotation- just wow. Were like All Star teams.
I would say it was Amaro who really set us up to fail in the 2010s decade. What a terrible GM
Honestly it’s better than the cost for Robert and it may be that the Guardians demanded Painter or Miller for Kwan
Bader has been a good player this season, if they trade a ton for Robert there’s a risk that he never re-finds his previous form
This all day
Painter/Miller/Crawford are all right on the cusp….keep ‘em in the fold!!!
@ DarkSide830:
Bader may not be a rockstar outfielder, but his bWAR for the year is greater than the Phillies entire combined outfield performance to date:
Bader bWAR 2.8
Kepler -0.3
Marsh 0.3
Castellanos -.06
Rojas 0.5
Total -0.1
He’ll help.
Bader is a great Rojas replacement. But the lineup still needs that extra thump. Bader only does so much.
I just finished watching the Red Sox mesmerize Bader w sliders low and away for three straight games. Just sayin’.
Would you be saying this if they added Kwan? Cause Kwan doesn’t fix the lack of power in the lineup either. Cleveland probably demanded Painter and/or Miller back. Harrison Bader is RH poor man’s Kwan. Not trying to rain in your parade but the Phillies need a RH power hitter in the 4 hole that isn’t streaky. There’s literally no one on this market that fixes the Phillies main issue. They acquired the best piece they could without emptying the farm system.
There’s a reason Luis Robert is batting 6th for the White Sox when he’s being showcased. He’s on a hot streak, he’s just not very good right now. Kwan is an odd fit with this roster and probably costs an arm and leg.
I think it’s most important that they save as much of the farm as they can because the really need to overhaul half the lineup. You can only do that in the winter. So the more trade pieces they have available, the better off they’ll be.
You could mesmerize the Phillies current CF with a batting Tee. it’s just mind boggling how bad the Phillies OF is this year.
> But the lineup still needs that extra thump.
It really doesn’t. The Phils have **plenty** of offense.
After adding Duran, what they really needed was a more solid defensive outfielder.
Right now the only quality defense they have out there is Rojas, and his bat is terrible.
Marsh is so-so, Kepler a little less than that, and Castellanos is awful but he keeps his spot because of his bat.
” Castellanos is awful but he keeps his spot because of his bat.”
He has a 103 wRC+ since coming to the Phillies in 2022. He’s been basically replacement level.
Time to move on
I would shed zero tears when he goes. I really can’t stand the guy.
Easily my least-favorite player on the team (certainly as far as the starters), and it’s not particularly close.
(Side note: the guy who sits in front of me at the ballpark, who wears his Castellanos jersey every time, must hate me LOL.)
when consider Defensive WAR….He was Plus 0.3 last year and Negative 1.0 WAR this year…..not even replacement level anymore….and he pouts when he gets pulled for a defensive sub….Sounds like the Phillies announcers have been told to talk up Nick’s great OF defense because his feelings got her for being subbed. He rates as one of the worst OFers.
Combine that with a leage average bat…it’s not good. Hopefully they can find a taker this off season if they eat nough salary….oh wait my mistake…Nick is Awesome…Your team wants to trade for him…please dont take him away…I will be so sad….
Ditto….Detest him…Negative 1.9 Defensive WAR and goes to the owner when the manager sits him for a late game defensive sub. Of course Kemp is right up there….playing as bad or worse than Nick and complains because he was promised a full time role….ignoring the fact that as a pro athlete if you don’t perform you can lose your spot.
Casty’s high highs are fondly remembered and his spells of swinging at anything out of the hand are selectively forgotten. He is pure Jekyll and Hyde. The Diamondbacks series meltdown of 2023 after his silly ATL series was a microcosm of the Castellanos experience. Let’s hope he gets on a legendary heater in his Phillies outro.
RE Canuck
FGDC projections
Bader 0.6 WAR
Marsh 0.7 WAR
Kepler 0.3 WAR
Castellanos 0.2 WAR
Rojas 0.2 WAR
A definite improvement.
Bader is going to fit in well with the Phillies. Its a nice addition to that lineup.
He is going to rake with everyday ABs, just don’t platoon him, let him start everyday in place of Keplar.
In place of Rojas
Somebody’s coming off the 40
Bad news, he’ll be platooning.
We’ll see if they grab anything else. But if the cost for a bigger bat was/is too prohibitive, I’ll take Bader’s light bat and his highly regarded defense in centerfield.
If they can still land a strong bat that’d be great. I’m hoping they still at least add someone who can at least play a platoon role with Marsh in LF — someone with a bit of power.
Best guess is that they are trying for more but this Bader rental takes care of a lesser upgrade that was easier to make happen.
I never much liked Bader, but if we see him for who he is – very good defender, short side platoon bat with some potential for more in streaks that raises the floor in a solid way we should be okay with this.
Agreed. Although it seems I may like the Bader addition a tad more than you.
It does position them to not come across as “desperate” now to add another outfielder.
I’m curious as to just how much the White Sox are asking for Robert Jr. I’m starting to feel like he may not be traded. But then again, if the Sox hold him, they are more or less committing $20M to him next year just to try and move him again. If he moves, I’ll be curious as to what got it done.
It has been reported that white Sox aren’t trading roberts. They like his upside. There’s reasons why they are so bad. Bader is a solid player
Bader doesnt have a significant platoon split and if you’ve followed him as a player, hates the slight. He will lay it out on the line everyday but take away his at bats and he gets upset about it and it has an effect on his approach day to day. I think he has reeled it in some but at the end of the day, he is a better player when he gets a full slate of at bats, he had a good season in Minnesota, Philly will be rewarded if they put that confidence in him to hit lefties and righties. He should be an everyday starter with a day off once a week.
They should look into that Austin Hays fella…oh wait…
Why didn’t they just combine the trades lol
Falvey is such a strange guy
Yes, this has become even dumber somehow for Mn. They should have packaged Bader with Duran to get a better level of prospect back. Instead they have done two separate deals and basically emptied the Phillies system of expendable spare parts.
Do you really think he didn’t try? You’re the first one with that idea, really?
“Do or do not, there is no try”
They should have walked away if this negotiation was going to be framed in a way so disproportionately advantageous to the Phillies. They do not *have* to make deals yet they are acting like all the leverage is with Philadelphia
He’s a free agent next year, they literally would get nothing by doing nothing. So you get some young blood in and thank Bader for his 4 months of work. Not sure why this is so outrageous to you.
As a stand alone deal this is not outrageous. Bader does not carry a ton of value by himself. Allowing Phi to break these deals up allowed them to acquire both players while only giving up players they were happy to give up. That is allowing Phi to dictate terms, and is not competent management.
How do you know the Phillies dictated terms and forced it to be two separate deals? Maybe that was in the article and I missed it?
Debrowski was not ready to pull the trigger on an outfielder yet, but once Suarez went off the board guys like Robert and Bader became “interesting.” of course I wanted Suarez, but that would’ve pushed Bryce Harper back into the outfield so lots of moving parts. Overall, I’m happy with Bader. He is definitely a step above Kepler and marsh.
Abel is MLB ready
Tait is JUST a prospect and MAY reach the level of Jorge Alfaro (who?)
MLB ready for what is the question. I think Phillies fans are basically living off speculative scouting reports and one good start in MLB and trying to talk us all into the notion that this is a big get for Minnesota. The Twins would be lucky to get a replacement for Paddack out of him.
@oddball – The Phils system still has a fair amount of trade ammunition even as they protect Painter / Miller / Crawford / Chace / Escobar / Nori. Not enough for the bigger guns but if they are looking to maneuver for another OF bat such as a Laureano or a solid relief arm they are fully capable of getting there with plenty to spare.
Tait was hard to lose, but we should appreciate that both Abel and Mendez had virtually no trade value last season and developed this year into trade chips that really helped at this deadline.
Got two very good prospects, Phillies wouldn’t have gone up in prospect tier just because bader was in first deal
Phillies get: Duran, Bader
Twins get: Abel, Tait, Mendez, Villoria
There, I combined the trades for you. Enjoy
Not the upgrade I’m sure Phillie fans were hoping for but it seems the Twins have replaced the Angels as the Phillies go-to trade partner
Massive upgrade over Kepler and you are incorrect.
It’s an OF improvement for little cost.
And I’m not convinced DD is done for the day.
Over Rojas
Phew, Bader the Phils than the Yanks.
Bader gets traded alot. I wonder why. Seems brash and cocky on the field.
Great fit for the Phillies
@the natural if only he can be as good as the brash cocky CF the Phils fleeced the Mets out of 30+ years ago
Dykstra?
NAILS
Phillies legend.
Nails
@ Sunday Lasagna
Thank God the Wilpons are gone. One of the dumbest owners to ever run an organization. In Cohen/Stearns Mets fans trust.
Hated him then, still hate him now. A complete wackadoodle.
Scarsdale!! IYKYK!
Pretty light return
Falvey in cahoots with Philly?
Light, should have offered the Twins nothing more than $5 Bader is an awful weak move by Phillies
Bader has been worth 3 WAR
The Phillies 14th ranked prospect as of yesterday and a 16 year old international prospect with no ranking is a tiny return for a 3 WAR player who will play every day
WAR is a wildly flawed statistic.
Not sure Bader is very trustworthy. He’s been a pretty bad hitter for several years and even if he weren’t going to revert to the norm a bit in the second half it seems it is more likely now after switching teams (especially being a mid-season acquisition playing in Philly). Seems like players like him who finally have a good season somewhere don’t translate half the time when they change teams/cities (that happens even with more consistent players sometimes too).
No one can say this trade puts the Phillies over the top, but it is the equalizer. You add a gold glove outfielder and has really improved at the plate thats not an automatic out proves they are going for it. Bader has improved his plate discipline and possess sneaky power. Inserting Bader and Duran into a game for the final innings to improve the defense and keep the lead is the closest thing to shutting down your opposition. DD has proven to his players he believes this team can win it all.
Seems like a real good return for Bader and I’m a Bader fan, think the Phillies did well to get him, but the young pitcher has some real potential. Has good command and strike out stuff.
Not saying it’s not a decent add but it’s nothing very exciting either imo
All statistics are flawed. But his WAR points to his value on both sides of the ball in an efficient way to communicate and reference. It’s 100x better than the analysis we get of pitchers generally…”they have a high K rate but they walk too many”—90% of all pitchers.lol. Oh but if I really wanna prove I did my homework and am not just a bias half-arse-er I can reference their ground ball %.
Hey, look, a comment from 2010 snuck in here.
I just wanted to bring up the pitcher thing again in hopes that maybe a couple people will catch on (writers or commenters) and eventually the writers can be a little smarter (dive a bit deeper) in their analysis. I don’t think it would take much more space. A bit more effort maybe but not too much. I don’t want a professional scouting report
Bader will start, getting Rojas off the field is the improvement
“wildly flawed”
What nonsense… is it the end-all-be-all stat that some people make it out to be? Of course not.
But “wildly flawed” is just typical sports-talk-radio-caller hyperbole.
Why can’t this website just agree to disagree about WAR and other advanced facts???
Pun Intended Why can’t we be friends?
This comment should be repeated in every article.
You should forget about your nonsenseical comment and mute yourself as punishment.
He’s a rental.
Other teams are getting more for rental relievers
Good thing Bader isn’t a reliever then.
Outfielders that will start every day have more value than relievers
As a Mets fan glad Phillies got Bader instead of Kwan
Enjoy your September vacation.
Jackson Rubbit:
?
Bader is a gamer. Defense doesn’t go into slumps. That was a PHI weakness.
As said above the cost for Robert and Kwan was too much for DDs judgement Very possibly required to get Kwan and maybe LR
Bader fits a need. The sum of the parts.
You can win a Championship without every player being a superstar. Edman last year and Kike with LAD and BOS. Guys not afraid to get their uniform dirty.
He plays great defense
But I’m speaking more from an offensive standpoint
While he’s having a perfectly fine season he doesn’t move the needle significantly in that lineup that needs help and could have benefited from more thump
Not saying this package isn’t preferable to what they would have to have given up for Kwan or Robert, but he’s not as scary as what Phillies could have gotten
Any offense Bader provides will be a bonus
all the runs he prevents is my main point.
I bet right now and in the off-season Stearns regrets overthinking and not bringing back Bader and pivoting to Siri. He couldn’t predict Siri getting hurt but Siri also strikes out like crazy. He is supposed to be good defensively. There were also some talk of attitude issues, which I don’t know if it is fair. It would be good to get feedback from many people before making that judgement. So
Mid
Bader is having a really good season. So I’m on board with this trade. Kepler and Rojas have been awful this year at the plate
kepler has been awful at the plate since 2020. I told you all when you were celebrating his signing
Literally no one celebrated the Kepler signing.
@vonph – I laughed. The response was anywhere from “I hope that this is okay” to lots of whining and moaning.
One thing about forums and comments sections – when someone has to come on here and say “I told you…” or “I have been saying this for a while” and anything related to that as a part of their norm, it is best to stop reading their stuff.
not a terrible trade if Dave follows it up with something else, the prospect we gave up weren’t that highly ranked and there’s still capital for another good move
Obviously I know Dombrowski and Thomson have to have trust in their players but I don’t really want Stott, Castellanos or even Bohm on my team anymore if we can go get better guys at this deadline
Phew Crawford still safe
He needs to be up though already like cmon
Just the typical on the fringe platoon bat by Dombrowski. Guy just hasn’t learned…. I’d say thats it for them and the deadline.
Love this move by DD, perfect fit on the field and most importantly the clubhouse.
The big acquisitions are rarely what puts teams over the edge. Usually it’s the fringe movements that get hot at the right time and win big games.
Is that Jeremy with a G or is it like.Gar-ah-me?
On pace for a 4 WAR season. Plays all 3 OF positions well, has pop and, most importantly, bats RH. And they gave up very little. This works. Bye bye Max.
I suspect this means Robert is staying put. Phillies were most logical trade partner. Never count out Preller though….
norcalblue:
Mets
The Mets, Dodgers or Padres are still potential landing spots which could negatively impact the Phillies down the stretch and into into the postseason.
Just look at the impact that Andrew Vaughn and Gavin Sheets have had since leaving the White Sox. Luis Robert Jr. has far more talent and upside than either as a 5-tool player.
those are great examples AS and I completely agree that Robert has far, far more upside potential. He could really be a difference maker in the middle of a contender’s lineup.
Padres have greatest need and are the least risk averse.
Rojas can go in a deal for Robert. Let’s get it done, DD.
What excites you about Robert? His potential?
Not his availability
Absolutely. Marsh/Robert in LF, Bader in CF, and Casty in RF is a vast improvement on both offense and defense.
imo, this is a great move for the Phillies. At the least, they picked up an elite OF defender for practically nothing.
Would have taken Bader on the Dodgers between Teo in LF and Pages in RF. Massive improvement to the OF defense.
I still believe in Conforto – he’s been on a tear in July. Not sure that Bader was a big enough improvement to make a deal worth it.
Of all the names most discussed as trade targets, Kwan is the only one that seems like a substantial improvement for LA.
Maybe some bench pieces (the whole bench is question marks due to injury.
I like the move, was one of the 3 I thought they would get, and since he was a righty it made more sense than Kwan
Rojas can just go. We will never forget your assist on Wednesday.
I will never understand the hatred of Rojas. Yes, his bat is pretty lousy, but his defense is very very good, bordering on excellent, with the potential to be an A-list defender if he continues to improve.
But all the chucklefux who call in to sports talk radio want to see him blasted on a rocket into the sun.
Makes ZERO sense… but of course it’s a complete myth that Philly sports fans are “knowledgable”… passionate, yes, overly so in many cases. But knowledgable? Nah. Not even close.
B-U
The average fan of any team is not that knowledgeable. Nothing special about Phillies fans.
A+ post for chucklefux.
WOW, is this Mrs. Rojas. Relax buddy.
But seriously I don’t hate the guy, he’s a very good defender, but a one dimensional player. He could be a fit for many rebuilding teams, not the Phillies team with the current expectations..
I wasn’t speaking strictly in response to your post, but in general. The dude gets mostly nothing but hate around here, and I just don’t get it.
Typical know-nothing “fans” I guess.
And I don’t disagree with you at all, that he’s one-dimensional and would probably be a much better fit elsewhere.
But man, when he makes a dazzling play it really is fantastic to watch. I firmly believe he has the potential to be an elite CFer… whether he rises to that or not remains to be seen.
I remember his first game in the Biggs . He made an amazing catch, followed by a perfect throw to get somebody out at first base on a double play. If he goes elsewhere, I wish I’m the best seems like a nice guy.
I think it’s quite allright for fans to be down on a player whose job it is to use a bat, and is described as, pretty lousy with the bat.
He is such trash and so overrated defensively
You must have wanted him badly
That leaves Mets ,If they don’t get him Getz asked too much.Robert is here to stay I think.
That would be just fine with me. Getz should stand firm and not sell too low on Robert Jr. If he can’t find a palatable deal before 5 PM CT then the White Sox are better off keeping him, picking up his $20MM 2026 option and consider a trade next offseason or by next summer’s trade deadline. 🙂
Rojas to Lehigh Valley tomorrow, please.
I liked Hendry (got to watch him a couple times at Reading). Nothing too flashy about to his game. He reminded me of a more athletic Willians Astudillo (refence for you Twins fans, he was once a Phillie minor leaguer).
I wonder if this means Crawford will not be promoted this year.
I’m glad we upgraded over Kepler, but damn I really wanted the Phils to go for Jarren Duran. I love that mullet and Philly would absolutely love him, IMO
Mets and Padres appear to be the front runners now for Robert
Does Rojas stay for the bench and defensive replacement or does he leave with Kapler?
Not a PHI fan this is just a general question on this groups attempts to get a WS ring. Should the team/player reconsider Harper as a possible even on a part time basis OF option? It allows the team to maybe bring in a 1B who maybe can take reps in the OF. Absent that, doesn’t the team have to bring up Crawford and get him acclimated to MLB asap? Kepler/Castellanos/Marsh become a platoon, Kepler DFA?
Bader is having a good year at the plate, if not for Buxton in MIN he’s playing CF, his defense is elite. This is a really good add, I had hoped my team SF would get him but their issues are far more than an OF addition. Getting back to my point above, Bader in CF does allow for lesser defensive orientated players to occupy one of the OF spots selectively?
As a Phillies fan from the area, I don’t see Harper moving back to the outfield during the season. And for as much as it’s been mentioned in general, I’d still be a bit surprised if he moved back there at any point in time. I’d suppose there is some chance once Castellanos is gone, but we won’t know that for another year and a half (unless they manage to trade him).
I’m thinking Crawford still has a chance to come up — at least see if he provides more to the team than Kepler or Rojas (now that we have Bader). No real harm in giving him a look (even if you have to send him back down).
As for the Bader pick-up, I’m happy with it. I’m assuming they play him in CF. And it’s always nice having a truly elite defensive guy manning that position. And I know he has a light bat, be he’s actually doing fairly well at the plate this year for himself by his standards (upon a quick glance, that appears to be the case anyway). He should be a strong upgrade in CF for Philadelphia.
I kind of feel like Phillies fans are going to remember Bader making at least one or two great defensive plays in the playoffs this year.
I would like a LF that has some power. But at the same time, I don’t want them to overpay a little to get it done unless it’s for a truly legitimate answer in left (not some platoon guy just for the sake of adding a name — I’d rather see Crawford brought up over that scenario).
Obviously things might change depending on circumstances, but as far as we’ve been told the plan is for Harper to remain at 1B as long as he’s in Philly.
Never watched Bader much before he was a Twin. Heard good things. Having him on your favorite team is a pleasure. I’ll miss him.
my initial reaction was underwhelmed, but he does bring an energy that this team seems to lack at times, besides a little offense as opposed to Rojas.
White Sox now have a little less leverage in negotiations with the Mets and Dodgers. The Sox do have tendency to overplay their hand, so it will be interesting to see if they can get something done to move Robert or if they’ll tell themselves that their best move is picking up his option in the hopes that next year he’ll be better at $20 M than he was this year at $15 M..
The Padres are are also in play with Preller, especially with the White Sox seemingly willing to throw in some cash in order to increase their prospect return.
Vientos 9 game hitting streak and timely revival changed things in the past week. I don’t see him going to Chicago for Robert Jr tho Jr is a great fit on the Mets platoon split wise.
I know Bader from the Mets. Solid defender, speedy and clutch.
I applaud this move by the Phillies. He fits well in their lineup.
And here I thought we were gonna make a move for Kwan.
Bader is more of a bare-knuckle Philly kind of player.
Will they have him get a haircut?
Will he keep it wet?
Brandon Marsh
Excellent move by the Fightins!
Taylor Ward would’ve been a great fit in LF there.
I like Bader a lot, hope he keeps up the offense.
Bader in CF
Taylor Ward in LF.
There’s still time.
That is pretty sexy. Make it happen.
Don’t hate the Hader
Hate DD’s game.
Bader, not Hader
A Philly. Average weak defensive outfielder and lotto ticket. Couldn’t get him any cheaper.
C for Twins. It’s a trade you do. Could been best they could do. Just not anything wow. Lotto tickets stats look good. Could become great. Just so could any other lotto ticket and most don’t amount to anything.
Not a Phillies fan but just wondering what they are looking for in an outfielder, are they looking for more solid defense, or they looking for an outfielder with power and hitting.
Both if possible, but IMO defense is the far more pressing need. The Phillies have **plenty** of offense.
I’m surprised Marsh hasn’t turned into a solid glove in CF.
At the time of that trade, I think most of us thought Marsh would be essentially what Bader is this season.
Agreed… I was really excited when he first came here, and he appeared at first to be a good fit for the Phillies’ CF needs… and then he just sort of plateaued.
I really like the guy, I think he’s got a great attitude and his blends in well with the rest of the team and its vibe and the city in general.
But I expected more from him, both defensively and offensively. He doesn’t suck, far from it, but he’s not playing to his potential.
(And remember, the Phillies tried multiple times to get him before the deal was actually done… they’ve had their eyes on him for a while, so they were clearly thinking the same thing.)
That trade started off pretty great for both teams and has settled into pretty good for both teams.
That’s a perfect description!
Phillies have no outfielders who play full time and provide plus offense with plus or even average defense.
Not sure why people are saying the Phillies had to “pay dearly” for these acquisitions (particularly Duran). IMO they made out like bandits on both deals, but especially that one..
Not sure this helps the Phils with their strategic hitting weakness against LHP.
By all accounts, Bader is traditionally better against LHP than RHP. This move doesn’t hurt, and might be a net positive in that aspect of the offense.
“Nick Castellanos is cemented in right” – he most certainly is.
You must admit that Darraugh fed that line to you like a middling fastball down the heart of the plate…he gets 50% credit for your punch line.
I will admit that. I will also admit I was surprised nobody had made the joke yet.
It does rather explain why Nick is always at the ballpark before everyone else…
Sad, but true.
“They could have included money here to ask for a greater prospect return but didn’t do so.“
Twinsiest sentence ever. Sell the team
“Nick Castellanos is cemented in right”
A+ sports journalism there!
Phillies are going to love bader making spectacular plays in the OF
I just wouldn’t trust him to hit all. He hit well for the mets and then fell off a cliff right around the second half.
Not a great upgrade for offense
I don’t get the Robert lovers… one nice year and otherwise can’t stay on the field and has done quite little in the other partial seasons.
May not have to worry about Roberts coming to the Phillies, according to ESPN Alden Rodriguez, saying Roberts might not be traded this trade deadline WSox saying the return they anticipated is not coming in. So, there is nothing close to working a trade.
Whoever is negotiating these trades that have been made down the stretch has no clue as to the REAL WORTH of the players that have been traded and should not be making any more trades. They should be immediately be terminated before they further screw up a team that is already screwed up with a very fuzzy future.
Jackson – You Are So Sensational!
I believe that Mickey Moniak has a higher average AND more home runs than any Philly outfielder – including Bader
MARINERS LEGEND BRETT DE GEUS
Meh.
He was a one year rental, but I loved the guy. Worked his tail off and got the job done when needed. I was hoping he’d somehow find a way to stay with the Twins for a few seasons.
The Phillies have the following players coming back in August: Alec Bohm, Aaron Nola, Alvarado, David Robertson, Andrew painter. They also added Harrison Bader and Johan Duran. That’s not bad for a team that’s a half game at a first place in the division, and solidly in a wildcard spot. It may not be flashy, but they already have a flashy lineup. Like it or not, this is the team.
You’re totally correct. It’s as good a roster as anyone else out there. We just need “most” of team to play the way they should.
This was not a bad trade deadline. It just was t as exciting as the Padres, Dodgers and a couple other teams.
The Phillies got a for real closer. They improved left field over Kepler.
Could they have gotten bigger names to help the
Offense yes. Now that they did not and didn’t trade Crawford or Painter, I’d bring them both up. I do it against the Orioles. They will tell you they did not add another bullpen piece bc they signed Robertson last week and Alvarado is on the way and Nola will return which moves Walker back to the pen but remember, Robertson is 40 and Alvarado is not eligible for the playoffs. Watch them sign a cast off like Ryan Presley next week and bring in a bat in August that got released from a team. Regardless, it’s win it all or say goodbye to the core of this team. It was kind of the same scenario in 1980. They then lingered for another 2-3 years as a much much older team then disappeared until 1993 and then disappeared again until 2008. And you know the story after that and here we are. I was 1 when they won in 80. My son was 1 when they won in 08. Let’s hope we don’t have to wait until my grandchild is 1 to see another WS trophy lifted. BTW – I don’t think my son has a kid this year that I know about so we’re out unless we get a knock on the door this October. I’m hoping not.
If this doesn’t work, I wonder who they target I the off-season. They can’t go another year wasting this staff and Bryce/Schwarber.