Among the center fielders available in free agency, Harrison Bader stands as the best option in terms of defense. In 2025, he tied for 7th-best among qualified outfielders with 13 Defensive Runs Saved. Indeed, Bader has been worth a staggering 67 DRS along with 77 Outs Above Average dating back to his debut 2017 season.
In 2025, Bader paired his typically excellent defense with a career-best offensive performance. In 501 plate appearances across 146 games between the Twins and Phillies, he batted .277/.347/.449 with a 122 wRC+ while setting a career high with 17 homers and upping his hard-hit rate to 40.3%. However, there are questions as to whether Bader’s performance is sustainable, given that he batted .359 on balls in play, which was far above the league average of .291.
Offensive question marks aside, Bader figures to earn a multi-year contract in this turn through free agency. We at MLBTR project him for a two-year, $26MM deal. Which team will take the plunge? Here’s a look at some of the options:
Phillies
A reunion with the Phillies would make plenty of sense. Kyle Schwarber, J.T. Realmuto, and Ranger Suarez are all free agents, and though the club would love to bring Schwarber back, there might be some available payroll if the other two end up leaving. In general, the Phillies’ outfield defense has not been a strong suit in recent years. In 2025, Brandon Marsh and Max Kepler were roughly average in the field, while Nick Castellanos was worth -11 DRS in right field and may not be on the team in 2026. Johan Rojas was worth 4 DRS in 418 2/3 outfield innings but also hit for just a 58 wRC+ in 172 plate appearances. Justin Crawford rates as the team’s No. 3 prospect according to MLB.com and could factor in, though a reunion with Bader would add to the defense while giving Crawford time to adjust to the majors.
Angels
The Angels used Mike Trout primarily as a DH this year in order to keep him healthy. That left Jo Adell as the starting center fielder, and he was worth -13 DRS in 724 innings there. Bryce Teodosio was much better with 7 DRS in 406 innings, but like Rojas for the Phillies, Teodosio was an offensive black hole with a 51 wRC+ in 150 PA. Overall, the Angels’ outfield defense was valued at -27 DRS, which ranked second-worst among big-league clubs ahead of only the Rockies. Signing Bader would help a great deal in that department, and it’s not as if the $26MM figure would break the bank for owner Arte Moreno, anyway.
Giants
The Giants have Jung Hoo Lee signed through 2029 (though he has an opt-out after 2027). While he was slightly above average offensively with a 107 wRC+ in 150 games this year, he was last among qualified center fielders with -18 DRS. Statcast regards him as having 11th-percentile range but 91st-percentile arm strength, so it’s possible he’d be a better fit in right field than center. Overall, the Giants’ outfield defense was not much better than the Angels’, as they combined for -21 DRS during the season. Mike Yastrzemski had been their best defensive outfielder, but he was traded to the Royals at the deadline. Since San Francisco already has expensive contracts on the books for Rafael Devers, Willy Adames, Matt Chapman, and Lee himself, signing Bader could be a low-cost option for strong defense and good-enough offense.
Orioles
Cedric Mullins was well below average defensively in 2025 and was traded to the Mets at the deadline. Colton Cowser and Dylan Carlson were serviceable in center following that trade, but they were hardly difference-makers. Prospect Dylan Beavers debuted in 2025 but only played the corners, and their next-closest outfield prospect, Enrique Bradfield Jr., is seen as an exceptional defender but an underdeveloped bat. Orioles president of baseball operations Mike Elias has signaled that the club will be aggressive in pursuing upgrades, and RosterResource gives them $68MM in payroll space before they match their 2025 spending. Bader would dramatically improve the defense while still leaving room for pitching upgrades.
Where do MLBTR readers think Bader will land this offseason? Cast your vote in the poll below:
Manifesting the Phillies, but the easiest answer is the field. Very few teams wouldn’t take a true CF who is a capable hitter.
Ive gotta think Phillies as well. Bader seems to hit best in deep lineups where pitchers have to put the ball over the plate often for him. Hes never walked alot and has struck out fairly often for someone with not as much power like him. In deep lineups though hes seems to get good contact that paired with his glove make him a solid addition.
With Mets Alonso had a down year by his standards leaving pretty much a solid Lindor in lineup and Vientos. Yankees had a Judge carried lineup with a solid Torres. Aside from that those lineups featured allow nothing Nimmo and Rizzo those years. Allowing for pitchers to take chances having Bader chase. In STL and PHI both lineups had quite a few bats complementary or better. His production in MIN I don’t understand, I hope its not the case but have to feel it was an anomaly.
Regardless I think his bat plays best in a deeper lineups where he ll see pitches batting near the end. His glove obviously not a worry. So for Phillies who should take plus defense wherever they can and him it seems like an excellent fit for both sides.
Would love to see Bader and Schwarber back, especially if they could get one of the Cardinal’s young catchers like Herrera to pair w Marchan and replace JT. Might mean they have to take on Arenado in order to do so, though.
But a Bader Harper Turner Schwarber Herrera 1-5 sounds great, even if that feels improbable.
Id have to think that Herrera would be a costly addition as far as talent STL would want in return. If PHI is willing and can afford to part with that type of prospect capital it would be an amazing addition for lineup. With Dombrowski willingness to part with the prospects shouldn’t be an issue unless asking price is insane.
And Philly is reportedly shopping lefty relievers, so a Banks, Strahm, or Alvarado could help sweeten the deal, and help with not dipping too heavily into prospects.
Herrera would cost us one of our top three prospects. Young catchers that can swing like that don’t get moved. If they did, it would be a rebuild for top prospects.
I just dont see Bloom moving Herrera. It would take a great deal. He hits, hasnt reached arbitration, and is the future of a core.
Smart thinking regarding arenado. This seems like a 2012 move trying for one last run with this group.
J T is coming back.
@crepu – Only if the Phils can’t bring back JTR for some reason. He is worth more to the Phils, and frankly the Phils are worth more to him than elsewhere.
The team that gets Bader will be the one that is a real optimist and pays him more on last season than on the rest of his career. I like him and want him back, but we have to be realistic about who he is. He still has real defensive chops; is a gamer and terrific clubhouse presence on the right team; a good baserunner and a bat that has been okay overall in his history. We need to expect regression from last year.
I went with the Phillies as well though the odds are definitely the field.
He just seems to fit the Phillies the best. Now I don’t expect them to bring back every free agent they have so someone or more likely leave. He just seems like a guy they wouldn’t keep and it won’t cost nearly as much as some of the others.
Harrison comes equipped with his very own walking boot for any team.
He’s a below average hitter. Above average defensively though
Come on Rubenstein open your wallet or put your Magna Carta up for sale.
I bet he will blame the dodgers again for making him look cheap
How does nearly doubling the payroll in his very first year as owner make him look cheap?
Do not confuse MLBTRADERUMORS.COM commentors with facts. 🙂
It seems some O’s fans like to blame being cheap on lack of pitching additions. They offered Burnes more than DBacks and not sure which other SP anyone believes they could ve realistically offered more and enticed to opt for signing in BAL instead.
Harsh reality is SP is expensive as top of rotation arms are somewhat rare commodity in MLB. Willingness to spend alone does not guarantee anything, takes $ and desire by the player to play there.
Yes that is the unfortunate thing around here with certain Orioles fans.
This offseason is a better crop of players than last and if they don’t make some additions that do more than improve the team on the margins, I believe fans will have a more justified gripe.
With their current payroll flexibility they should be able too add close to 65-70 million dollars comfortably. That gets you front of the rotation caliber arm, another starter (Imai is who I would like them to target), Alonso and a back end of the bullpen arm. They can then use the trade deadline to make the acquisitions that the first half of the season necessitates.
There really isn’t many reasons this shouldn’t be a big offseason for Baltimore.
Yeah, that never happened, but go off.
There is a place for Harrison Bader on every major league roster.
Not really. Red Sox are certainly not looking for another outfielder
True but the sox are never really considered contenders for much of anything.
baseball-reference.com/postseason/
Yeah, you guys are probably right. Maybe he wouldn’t be one of the Red Sox top 4 outfielders. I’m just a big Harrison Bader fan.
Nope, not every roster. No
Bhagwan is coming
Looks like a landslide for a Different Team.
They do need the defensive help, as their only current star is Cash Considerations.
We all know he’s a bat first guy.
Their other star is a Player To Be Named Later.
I didn’t know Crash Davis was still playing.
The poll shows fans of my team knows how to play the field.
I was thinking Royals personally.
They could use a lot of everything
He wants to play in New York. I know that hes already had a turn with both the Mets and Yankees but I think he goes back to one of them. Yankees is my guess.
Brewers need him badly. Chourio can not play CF. Perkins can not be a part of a two man dead spot at the bottom of the batting order. The Brewers have a history of turning to over 30 free agent center fielders to carry them for a few years, and they have no one ready in their system. Bader has always hit well in Milwaukee, and his personality would fit perfectly.
Milwaukee has 4-5 legit CF options next year depending on when Lara is ready, all 3 of Mitchell, Perkins and Lara are incredible defenders there. If they are adding any OF, it would be a corner type because they could use some more pop in the lineup.
If the Twins continue their teardown, I could see the Brewers taking a hard run at Byron Buxton, whose foot speed, defense and slugging would raise the Brewers’ profile, especially when Chourio hits his stride. Buxton would also bring fans — disgusted Twins fans — to Milwaukee as the symbol of the Twins’ better days and with the Brewers being the team they would like back home. The Twins would want young pitchers if they move Ryan and/or Lopez, and the Brewers could accommodate them.
I don’t see Buxton leaving the Twins if he didn’t during the teardown. Buxton is the Twins’ (albeit highly-capable) version of Pirates’ Andrew McCutchen.
Buxton has made it known that he’ll waive his no-trade clause if the Twins decide to trade Ryan and Lopez. Even if the Twins hang on to their top two starters, the atmosphere at Target Field will be funereal, and that could persuade Buxton to seek a trade to a contender. BTW, McCutchen has spent time with four other teams, including Milwaukee.
Could see the Dodgers trading 2 top prospects (outfielder or 1B and pitcher) plus a Landon Knack, River Ryan or Gavin Stone (pick two) and Justin Wrobleski for Buxton and Joe Ryan. A 5 for 2 trade. Twins save some money and get some controllable players with LA solidifying the outfield and maximizing the Bettts/Ohtani/Freeman remaining years.
I dont know who is signing him, but im almost positive they are gonna regret it if he gets anywhere near these projected contracts I’ve seen.
I would love it if Mitchell could take over in CF and play up to his potential. As you know, he’s suffered one injury after another and hasn’t really been able to establish himself as a major league hitter in his healthy stints.
Lara is about to turn 21 and hasn’t played above double A. Counting on him to take over next year is risky at best. I love Perkins and his defense but he just doesn’t hit much, and it tends to get worse when he plays too many days in a row.
The big corner bat can be Chourio in Left field.
I doubt we’ll get Bader, but I’d still love to see him in center..
This is the type of player the Dodgers usually covet.
Doesn’t matter. They’ll sign him as a defensive move, just so SD, Philly, SF. etc. can’t
Do you know what the word “covet” means?
Clearly, he does not
It wouldn’t be a crazy signing for the Dodgers. They need to improve their OF defense and it would allow them to move Andy Pages to RF and Teoscar Hernandez to LF. They need to get Teo to LF–or trade him.
Exactly. I see little chance the Dodgers trade Teo Hernandez but they do need to move him back to LF and Bader gives them the opportunity. Beats me why the Dodgers were not on the potential destination list.
Can see LA going 3 years/32-34 mil. He would really fill in that 7-8 batting spot in 2026. As a Dodgers fan, would rather have Bader than Bichette or Kyle Tucker.
Bichette isn’t on the radar, but I do like Brendan Donovan as a potential trade target.
Twins. Wild Guess
Royals
I feel like the D-backs make a lot of sense, have a hole with Gurriel out, Bader can be a stopgap if everyone in the OF struggles besides Carroll
I picked Orioles but I can see the Royals signing him too.
His career year would be 2021 and his #s were almost identical in 2018. 2019 I dont like to put much stock in production due to juiced ball.
That said Bader has shown he can produce like last season multiple times throughout his career in right lineup. His glove seems to plays well anywhere. Angels having Soler, Adell, and Ward assuming Trout DHs often I dont see why they’d add Bader.
I can totally understand your frustration with Angels. They always seem to have intriguing lineups as Arte appears to love bats with name recognition. He seems to have great disdain for investing in pitching tho.
There is likely, however, more to his off offensive years (half of his career) than merely not being “in the right lineups”. He is terribly inconsistent and a risk to sign to a multi year/relatively lucrative contract. There are certain teams who could take that risk reasonably given he is at least likely to be a very good defender. If we are talking anything above 7m per year it’s quite a gamble.
@Rishi I dont necessarily disagree that there is more to his off years. However there definitely is a pattern so the inconsistency could be the lack of protection. If there is anything else that seems to have been a contributing factor Im curious myself.
Hes gonna get more than $7M and he should. With his age Id assume he wants a 4-6 yr deal. I doubt anyone is going 6 yrs but definitely could see a 4yr 38M with opt out(s) after yr 1 or 2. Any shorter deals I see his AAV climbing from $10-15M. If PHI could sign him on a 2 yr deal I think it would fit their current situation well as far as needs and lining up with other future contractual obligations.
There is no way he is getting a 4 year deal. You are overrating this player by a long shot.
I mean he has one year out of 3 where he isn’t bad at the plate and you are talking a 4-6 year deal. The only thing he has consistently done is play defense which is not something we can rely on staying above average for 4-6 more years. The greatest fielding CF ever couldn’t even play the position anymore after like 30-31.
Go Cubs Go!!
Mets make a lot of sense on that contract.
I honestly see him back in the Cincinnati group.
orioles
stabilize our outfield
I’m sure some GM will overpay for a career year, but I hope it’s not Dave. .306 OBP and .698 OPS isn’t worth a 2 year contract. I would have been fine on the 1/10 as a GM, but 2 years could be a small disaster.
The Astros overpayed for Rafael Montero.
The Phillies need his cf defense, and his right handed bat. The right handed hitting free agent outfielders, are a “sorry lot”!! A two year contract for around 12m per, is good for both sides.
I’d agree with you if Rojas wasn’t a similar player for dirt cheap. If you take out last year, Rojas is comparable to Bader – .294 OBP .633 OPS 2.3 bWAR per 162 versus the stats I said above for Bader and 2.8 bWAR. I would rather trade for a better option than sign one that, if he reverts to pre-2025 is no better than Rojas.
You could use 12M better. Kepler hit 18 HRs last year and people wanted him gone every day. Bader hit 17 HRs.
Go get a better bat with an adequate glove.
Baders OPS last year was close to .800, far exceeding Kepler and light years ahead of Rojas. The Phillies need his defense and can live with him hitting eighth and batting .245, which he is easily capable of in the park and lineup. I’d give him two years, $26 million plus a vesting option for year three. He fields, runs and throws. His OPS is 150 higher than Rojas ever will see. Bader could also platoon nicely for a year with Marsh if Crawford is for real.
Dude last year. He’s 32. The only time he came close to the same production was a shortened 2020 and 2021 season where only played 103 games. I’m not buying career year at 32. And I only put Rojas up there to illustrate how similar they are if you take out 2025. Rojas had .770 OPS his rookie season and we know what happened after.
They need to go outside of the org to fill the need. And it’s not Bader. I don’t want to commit 3 years to Bader if I can go out and get a better player.
No kidding. Who in the real world is available and better? Emphasis on actually available.
Guardians
Bader really is a great fit for Cleveland. I have to imagine they’ll be in the mix.
Royals. He’s exactly what they need, and shouldn’t break the bank.
His career numbers Wrigley are amazing – If I was his agent I would figure a way to get him there or Philadelphia.
other places he hits well are Tex, Bos, Clv but much smaller sample sizes.
Tigers.
There is trade interest in Jake Meyers. So if Meyers is traded, then Bader could come here. For the people that said Philly!, the Phillies are one of the teams that are interested in Meyers.
Stros aren’t trading Meyers. He’s still cost controlled for a couple more seasons. The ONLY way he’s traded is if it’s for young starting pitching and I doubt the Phillies do that.
if you’re signing Bader, you’re not signing him for offense. In addition to that bloated BABIP, he hadn’t had an OBP over .300 since ’22 and that was only .303.. These guys go all out in their walk years – just goes to show they are not putting forth top effort when they have the protection of a guaranteed deal.
Bader was a free agent the previous year. Weird that he didnt simply choose to have a great offensive year then. Perhaps the game is just difficult.
I’ll throw a sneaky wildcard out there. Possibly the Braves. I want and believe the Braves will go after a decent hitting outfielder that can play good defense. Profar might DH and then this would allow Acuna to DH and “rest” him a bit more. This seems like the perfect “cheap” option the Braves could go after. I don’t love his bat, but he doesn’t need to rake. This would make the catching situation interesting but I’m sorta in the boat that id like the Braves to shop murph .. but I think at this point he’s just an overpaid bench bat that plays excellent defense. And if you think of how much he cost “spread” between him and Baldwin, the cost is more manageable to eat for the catching position
I can’t imagine Bader going anywhere other than Philly. He’s a perfect fit.
I had Bader to the Royals. They need a CF and will be in the market for him or Grisham IMO.
I have this as well.
Rumor has it that he’s signing with the Royals but unfortunately, I didn’t pick them.
Stearns said the Mets would improve run prevention. That’s probably not just adding pitching and ditching Alonso. So I predict the Mets.
Bader lacks the power the home-run obsessed Orioles desire.
He is good enough that better teams will make comparable offers. No one signs with the Angels as their first choice
If re-sign Buehler before him and desperately try to move Castellanos and Walker.
Pirates
Cherington alluded to spending more money to upgrade the offense this off season. We will see if he puts his money where his mouth is.
angels? the dude wants to win. might as well resign with the Twins – will be as bad as Los Angeles’ AAA team
The Orioles don’t need him. As it mentioned, Bradfield Jr is in the wings and getting more AAA experience this coming season. He could potentially get called up in 2026, but definitely looks to take the CF job in ‘27.
Until then, Cowser and Jeremiah Jackson (who can play the OF and UTL infield) will be fine. No need to get into a 2+ year contract if the player signed will be blocking a top prospect, potentially months into said contract. They can trade for defensive CF/OF if they need to at the deadline but right now they should be focusing on SP (Imai and another front of the rotation type), legitimate RH power bat (Alonso), and bullpen additions (Suarez or Williams). Those are the priorities.
A half dozen Angels season ticket holders in my section get together every year just after we renew and have a rant session at a local steakhouse.
This year we made a list of criteria that Arte uses to sign players.
Position player? Check
Pitcher? Only if they will take a deal 3 years or less.
On downhill side of 30? Check
Former top prospect or 1st round pick? Check.
A name that will sell tickets? Check
Will make the team better? Not necessary.
Bader fits several of those criteria.
Of all the free agents, this is the one we’re interested in.
I voted other, for the Cubs.
1. He hits RH while PCA and Caissie hit LH and Happ is SH but worse against LH.
2. He’s still a decent to good defensive CF.
3. The mix of very good years and meh years combined with his age should keep the money relatively short (2-3 years). Which Bader is a team getting. So a 2 year deal with a mutual option for 2028 is possible if the AAV is high enough.
4. Happ and Suzuki are both FA after 2026.
Having Bader and Ballesteros in against LH pitching would help because the Cubs were not great against LH in the second half of the year. He solves the backup CF problem as well at a higher level than Kevin Alcantara. And he’d be cheaper than Kyle Tucker was in 2025.
Would fit really well in Baltimore
A “must do” for the Giants. Bader in CF and JHL in a corner (and Ramos as DH) takes their outfield defense from bottom 25% to top 25%…
If he were willing to be a platoon player, I’d like to see the Cardinals bring him back. However, his career year at the plate probably means that someone will give him a full time CF job.
Don’t laugh, but maybe the Pirates? He’s not totally out of their price range and the Buccos might be feeling a sense of urgency to become competitive before Skenes becomes a Yankee or a Dodger a few seasons down the road.
It should be the Giants. Bader will provide decent offense and good defense and push Lee to RF, maximizing his value. Tucker is too expensive, Bellinger will hit poorly at Oracle (just look at last year’s home/road splits), and Grisham has an inconsistent track record and comes with QO. Bader to SF.