The Giants made a notable upgrade to their outfield defense, signing Harrison Bader to a two-year contract. It’s reportedly a $20.5MM contract for the Vayner Sports client, who can earn an additional $500K in incentives. Bader will collect a $6MM signing bonus and $4.5MM salary this year, followed by a $10MM salary in 2027. San Francisco opened a 40-man spot by trading Kai-Wei Teng to the Astros.
Bader, 31, has been a free agent for three consecutive offseasons but now lands the multi-year deal that’s previously eluded him. He signed one-year deals with the Mets and Twins, respectively, over the past two winters. Bader turned in a career-best performance in Minnesota and was red hot for the Phillies down the stretch after joining them in a deadline swap, and the market has rewarded that strong 2025 performance.
In 501 plate appearances between Minnesota and Philadelphia last year, Bader slashed .277/.347/.449 with 17 homers, 24 doubles, a triple and 11 steals (albeit in 18 attempts). His 7.8% walk rate was the second-best he’s posted in a 162-game season, though 2025’s bloated 27.1% strikeout rate was also his worst full-season mark since 2019. Much of Bader’s success can be attributed to an increase in playing time and a hefty .359 average on balls in play, but it bears mentioning that his 10.2% barrel rate and 40.3% hard-hit rate were personal bests in a full big league season.
Strong as last year’s performance was — 22% better than league-average, by measure of wRC+ — offense has never been Bader’s calling card. He’s been clearly above average in four of his nine MLB campaigns, but on the whole, Bader is a .247/.313/.401 hitter in a bit more than 3000 career plate appearances, which just barely shy of average. His glovework, however, is among the best in all of baseball, regardless of position.
Bader has played 5925 innings of center field defense in his career and been credited with a gaudy 51 Defensive Runs Saved and 67 Outs Above Average. He played more left field than center field in Minnesota, largely in deference to Byron Buxton, and notched positive marks in both DRS (7) and OAA (3) through 496 frames.
Overall, Bader has played 6799 innings of outfield defense in the majors, dating back to his 2017 MLB debut. In that time, only four outfielders — Mookie Betts, Kevin Kiermaier, Daulton Varsho, Michael A. Taylor — have bested his 67 DRS. No outfielder in that time has topped Bader’s 77 OAA. Francisco Lindor, Nick Ahmed, Nolan Arenado and Ke’Bryan Hayes are the only four majors leaguers at any position with a better OAA total in that time.
With Bader turning 32 in June, it’s fair to at least wonder whether he’ll begin to slow down over the next two seasons. However, there’s no reason to think that’ll be the case — at least based on recent history. This past season’s average sprint speed of 28.8 feet per second was actually an improvement over Bader’s 2024 mark of 28.2 ft/sec and right in line with his 2023 mark. He’s no longer covering the flat-out elite 30 ft/sec he did earlier in his career, but Bader’s 2025 sprint speed still landed in the 85th percentile of all big league position players. He’s a clear plus runner.
It’s a near certainty that Bader will take that plus speed and range to Oracle Park as the Giants’ new center fielder. Jung Hoo Lee handled the bulk of center field work in San Francisco this past offseason but ranked as one of the worst defenders in the game along the way (-18 DRS, -5 OAA). Lee’s arm strength sat in the 91st percentile of big league outfielders, per Statcast, but his range was near the bottom of the scale. Lee should have the arm to move to right field, where his lack of range would be better suited. Even if Bader’s bat regresses and checks in a bit shy of average, the defensive upgrade alone will be enormous for the Giants.
Assuming even distribution of that $20.5MM, Bader’s contract bumps San Francisco’s actual cash payroll to a projected $195MM, per RosterResource. Their luxury tax payroll is quite a bit higher, clocking in at about $221.5MM, but that still leaves more than $20MM between their current standing and the $244MM threshold at which luxury penalties begin. San Francisco has paid the tax in the past, but only rarely. They were over the line in 2024, which stands as their only time exceeding the threshold in recent memory.
For the time being, it doesn’t seem likely that the Giants will climb back to that level of spending. San Francisco is in the market for a second baseman but has been looking at the trade market — specifically, affordable targets like CJ Abrams and Brendan Donovan (“affordable” in terms of salary — not necessarily prospect capital). They’ve added Adrian Houser and Tyler Mahle to the rotation and could continue to poke around the rotation and bullpen markets, but ownership has publicly expressed an aversion to signing any free agent pitcher to a long-term deal, making a run at a top free agent like Framber Valdez feel unlikely.
Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic first reported the two-year agreement. Jon Heyman of the New York Post first reported the financial terms. Jon Becker of FanGraphs had the signing bonus and salary breakdown.
Ok Buster I see you
Hard not to guys gotta be one of the most handsome men in the sport now that KK is retired
Yes, very handsome, especially when he has that walking boot on! Nevertheless, a great signing for the Giants, when he is healthy of course.
Now there’s a handsome man!
And Bartolo
Relax pal, he’s married.
He gave Lee waaaay to much money smh
Zaidi signed Lee, not Buster.
Big Whiffa lived up to his name on that one.
And we haven’t seen what Lee is fully capable of. After this season we’ll have a better idea if it was an overpay or smart money.
Isn’t that the same thing they said after the previous season?
Hopefully means Lee moving to RF, where he’d be a more natural fit.
Lee is a bum and should be traded asap
the guy has only had one full season in MLB and held his own. we will see how that translates to this year
I’m certain they would get fair value.
They’d have to give up good player(s) or good prospect(s) or pay a bunch of his salary—for years to come—to trade him (and would get back some long shot prospect at best). And then they’d be short an outfielder. Is that really what you want?
that would be good
Lee was known to not be a MLB-caliber CFer when they signed them. I’m sure they’ll move him to a corner.
Sometime between now and trade deadline, Lee will go somewhere else accompanied by a boat load of cash. Giants will need him gone to make other moves.
Bingo the only thing saving his WAR is he can field a little bit but both him with the giants and the Red Sox with Masataka Yoshida overpaid for there services
wth are you talking about – he had negative ratings in the field
Highly doubtful Lee gets traded. He’s a fine player. Not great, not bad: 1.7 WAR / 110 OP+. His defensive metrics (and WAR) will improve greatly with the shift to RF.
Lee is entering his Age 27 seasons, and finally has some nasty injuries behind him (broken ankle and then shoulder surgery). Upside still exits. Plus, from a marketing angle, the guy is beloved in SF. Moreover, the Giants organization is thin on MLB-level outfielders at the moment.
All that to say: Extremely low chance Lee gets traded.
He played RF in Korea because he has a great arm. And let’s not rush to judgement on a guy who’s only played one full season.
I’m looking forward to the days when Bader’s in CF and Drew Gilbert gets a turn in RF.
2-30 probably
Good gamble. Has value even if the bat regresses.
I’ll guess 2/$24M
He got 2/$20.5M.
Hey Bader, Bader, Bader, swwwwiiiiing 🤣
Hopefully it means Lee moves to RF where he’ll be less of a defensive liability.
Your first version was nicer.
Lol true
Haha I got salty when it seemed not to appear at first.
Could go either way.
RF @ Oracle is huge, and both catch right handed. Dunno which has the better arm.
* left handed *
Lee has the better arm according to Statcast.
Lee: Arm Value 87, Arm Strength 91
Bader: Arm Value 48, Arm Strength 84
Lee to RF then.
Matos to trade package for Donovan.
I’d rather they trade Ramos. I don’t want them to trade Matos. Matos was better than Ramos at ages 22, and 23, and will be 24 this season, which is the same age as when Ramos broke out.
The problem, of course, is the Cards don’t want Ramos. They may not want Matos either. Since they’re rebuilding, I’d guess prospects.
I think they keep BOTH Ramos and Matos on Opening Day roster unless another team overwhelms them with an offer.
Ramos is the worst fielder of the four, but I think he will outhit Lee, Bader and Matos in 2026.
I think Jerar Encarnacion is the odd man out despite his raw power potential.
Ramos out-hitting the other 3 is possible, but it wouldn’t surprise me if he didn’t He didn’t hit well in the 2nd half of 2025. He put up a .674 OPS, with half the number of HRs than in the 1st half.
That could be due to some injury he was playing through, but it could also be the pitchers found a hole in his swing, and he wasn’t able to adjust. If it was an injury, not sure why Melvin had him leading off.
You could be right about Encarnacion, I think Matos out-hits Ramos though, and wouldn’t be surprised if Lee did as well.
Well I think we both agree that there probably are not teams prepared to make a huge offer for Ramos or Matos so it makes sense to keep all four of them in almost every scenario.
The Cardinals would take Matos or Ramos but it would only be a small piece of the deal certainly not the headliner.
Let’s not forget Drew Gilbert. He’s part of the equation too. (I think Matos goes in a deal.)
there is a possibility that matos looks ok and they send gilbert and mccray down to sac. matos is out of options so you either need to field him or trade him and they may want to let him build value first
yeah I would think he is either traded or dfa’d
I remember hearing, when Lee was first signed, that some scouts felt he was better suited for the corners but were concerned his bat wouldn’t be good enough for those spots. I guess we will all see if those scouts’ concerns were correct.
Because his power numbers—especially HRs—won’t excite anyone. But he had 31 doubles and 12 triples last season—that’s not peanuts.
2.4 fWAR and turning 27. Anyone talking about unloading Lee is being foolish.
And in his first 700 at bats. Barely over a full season. You’re right Jack
Good move for SF
Good for Bader. Meh for SF. Expect him to perform at career norms.
The only ding on Bader is the injury-prone nature of his style of play. Or perhaps he’s just unlucky.
His bat is underwhelming but the glove will play well in SF.
100% His hitting last year was well above career norms, butchis glove provides a nice floor. I believe Bader was seeking quite a bit more initially so the price settled on is fair for all
Its his style of play. He’s like Kiermaier hes gonna get hurt but hes good when he plays.
Phillies lose out again
Didn’t they move on by signing Garcia?
adolis is really to replace Castellanos. have just Marsh/Crawford/Kemp for OF spots- for that price i would have taken him back and Kemp stays in AAA
Forget that. Kemp can stay and Marsh can go.
Rojas is still there as well
How many outfielders last year hit over .300 with over an .835 OPS? That is what Marsh hit after he came back from that early injury at the beginning of May.
He ain’t perfect by any stretch, but our dopey fans only see what they want to see.
Marsh and Bohm are both hated on by Philly fans for reasons I can’t understand
They said long ago they are going with Crawford in CF.
Still, they badly need another outfielder. Marsh and Garcia are platoon players, Crawford is a rookie, Kemp is a Quad-A player. Rojas can’t hit in AAA let alone the majors.
Any extra nickels and dimes the Phils can grab from the couch cushions should go directly to pitching.
Lol. Rojas’ minor league batting statistics show you are wrong, and obviously you never bothered to look at them
Now let’s see if they trade for their 2nd baseman soon, then they can sit back and get ready for spring training
How about Nick Yorke from Pittsburgh Pirates for Andrew Painter? Or Nick Gonzales for Andrew Painter. Yorke hasn’t seen much playing time in the majors and could be your next Chase Utley
Phillies are not trading Andrew Painter for those guys
The Phillies would laugh and hang up the phone. Nick Gonzales especially has very little value
I kept thinking about this comment. It’s wishfulness is kinda beautiful. Yes my brother. They’ll trade you perhaps the best pitching prospect in the game for a 2nd baseman that probably won’t get playing time on the lowly Pirates. Sometimes mankind is beautiful.
Kinda makes you feel like you are getting a trade offer in a Fantasy baseball league? LOL
These are my favorites lol. The classic “hey we want your best player/prospect, will you take our washed up former first rounder that we don’t like anymore? They’ve got two years of controllllllll :)”
And then you counter offer with a fair trade and they reject it. Amazing.
Ding ding ding – I take the check mark!
I swear I thought I had him going there, but I must’ve changed it to KC last minute.
hope you have them getting Framber too cuz they’re on the buzzer-beater offseason timeline.
I have Framber to Giants – may be right
I got Framber to the O’s, still sounds possible.
O’s more likely than the Giants.
The Padres may get in on Framber depending on what happens with Darvish
Agree and if I can’t get the pick, I’d go for that.
Would prefer he goes to SF so I get the pick and maybe Verlander / Martinez – 2 for the same money.
Or Gio would work – no one picked that one!
Gio Gonzalez???
Pads could have some freed up monies if/when Darvish retires/relinquishes his onerous contract…Framber probably won’t wait that long since Darvish tends to move at a glacial pace and it is definitely questionable thinking he’ll be resolved before spring training starts. No way in Hades Valdez waits that long unless some new, unflattering angle or injury crops up.
Don’t see AJ straight up signing Valdez without the Darvish situation resolved. Lesser/more affordable pitchers? Yes.
It’s doubtful that Darvish totally relinquishes his contract. No player is simply walking away from all that money. Darvish will try to help SD by restructuring his deal to money deferred. That should give them more operating capital, but not sure it’s enough to land Framber even if the Darvish deal/retirement is resolved quickly.
He’s an interesting cat. I’d say it’s 50/50 he just pulls the plug and says no to any remaining monies out of principle or (re)negotiates a settlement/team steps in with a goodwill, golden parachute. He ain’t Anthony Rendon. Team did let him work through a lengthy personal departure in 2025. That is likely not forgotten in his final calculus. He does seem old-school in the fact that he’s always been a lunchpail guy and not a diva. My assessment (which is worth less than zero) is that he gives it his all in rehab, which stretches out indefinitely, and eventually concludes (probably in 2027) that he is unable to pitch up to his standards. Think he and the team renegotiate the 2026 season/contract and he gets paid/remains a member of the team/keeps rehabbing. It will free up some money for 2026 around spring training (so AJ will have a list of 20 targeted guys to sign/trade for just before the season opener). Feel like the team keeps him close as an advisor/international ambassador when that time comes.
how many times do you have to hear: ownership does not want long pitcher contracts
Good luck to you Harrison. I hope you have a great season in that Giant uniform.
Get off his plane!
Deep pull, but I got it.
Gonna be fun to watch him in that CF.
Not a fan of Bader. Glad the Giants got him.
I’m sure he’s very sad to hear that you’re not a fan.
Big pick up for the Giants. Good job. He deserved more than a one year commitment based on his recent work..
Based on his one good season?
He’s the player every fan asks why their team didn’t sign him
Nah. If I wanted a guy who strikes out 136 times but only hits 17 HRs while generally carrying an OBP under .300 (last year was an outlier of the past 4 seasons) but plays very good defense then yeah I would say Bader’s the guy. All I’m saying is temper expectations as he goes into a tougher hitters park.
Also has trouble staying healthy. He’s still a good CF, but no longer elite. The $10m per for two yrs sounds just right.
Best of luck, Harrison. He was a good Cardinal and I’ll always cheer for the guy.
Its a tough hitters park but his defense and speed will be a big help there.
I get that you don’t like him but he has a career ..247/.313/.401 slash line. He’s played 8 seasons and his OBP was sub-.300 three times. For $10M per season, it’s well worth a player with a 3+ WAR ceiling.
If he repeats that career line, he still will be better than any outfielder the Phillies have.
They signed him for defense …
CLE should have been in on Bader from the jump, but after hearing Antonetti’s comments from over the weekend, they haven’t been in on any position players and do not plan to be.
I didn’t like it when the Yankees picked him up when he was still wearing that boot.
Good for him. A lot of real estate for him to cover in that outfield, which maximizes his value.
Ridiculous a team with a $200MM tax payroll that didn’t finish with a losing record gets to draft #4 in 2026.
Gotta prevent all the poverty franchises from flat out tanking somehow
Right? Dodgers never get to draft that high…
Now now, Uncle Bob, don’t be a crybaby.
More proof the that Giants are ruining baseball.
@Joe Robbins, BIG pickup??!! Stop it. That’s laughable. They got a guy that nobody else cared to sign and could only get 1yr deals the last two seasons. Get real. Go re-watch your World Series wins, cuz that’s all you got coming up for this season.
somebody’s in a sour mood…
Some people just love to cry
It seemed a little overly emotional
His bWAR number would literally make him the second most valuable player on the team last year and 3rd from the last two years.
Oops, 3rd and 4th I think — Devers combined bWAR is a lot higher
Good value play for a solid bat and a very good glove for the right team. Take a breath @thrash
go back to Twitter or whatever
thrasher
Troll. Just here to be negative and argue
Muted
Dodgers need to counter this move.
No need – LAD are masters of their domain.
They are not masters of their Bader!
The Oracle says that Master Bader does not play with a candlestick
Eugenio Suarez?
He’s now the most interesting name out there for offense. Seatlle maybe?
padam,
The Dodgers countered this move by existing.
*by spending 5 times as much as other teams
*Doyers give me a pain in my asterisk!
AND deferring huge amounts.
Good move. He fit with Philly that was a nig mistake for philly
Was a what mistake!?
Don’t say it TDB!
I.. don’t think it was
Good signing by the Giants.
Harrison Gooder
is Bader the most underrated position player in the sport? His excellent defense gives him a high floor, and he can go on tears with the bat.
@Blah “Underrated”? Nah. From 2022-2024 he was a 1 fWAR player (1.4, 0.9, 1.2) who hit in extraordinary good luck in 2025 with a BABIP .064 higher than his career number through 2024.
And now he’s 32, His xBA in 2025 was .223. His xSLG was just .364. His xOPS was around .640-.650, which is right around his 2022-2024 OPS. There’s not much that suggests his 2025 is in any way repeatable.
Still, he’s not a bad pickup at all. Even if he’s a 1 fWAR player in each of 2026-2027 he’s worth the $20.5 salary in baseball’s funny money, and despite the risk of radical decline for a player his age at a key position that’s very speed-dependent, he’s also got some upside. He’s a solid 4th OFer on a respectable contender, with Jose Iglesias downside risk.
JS
“From 2022-2024 he was a 1 fWAR player (1.4, 0.9, 1.2) ”
In partial seasons.
He put up 3.6 fWAR in 1094 PA. That’s a rate of 1.97 fWAR per 600 PA.
You might be frothing at the thumbs to type “you can’t just take a player’s performance and multiply it”. Save it. You’re right. And I know that
But a player who puts up 1 WAR in 300 PA is about twice as valuable as a player who does it in 600 PA.
So, yes, in one way he’s around a 1 WAR player (FG projects him for 1.6). So, that’s about what you want to pay him for.
But if he’s your starting CF, and you have some OF depth, you can expect more than 1 WAR out of CF if you sign Bader.
Bader should provide really good CF defense. RF might be solved moving JHL there
2-years for $32M a reasonable deal
2/32 would be an overpay IMO. I assume he got closer to 2/24.
He got 2/yrs $20.5
The Giants needed a center fielder. This guy is elite defensively and he had a solid offensive seasion. He’ll probably bat 7th or 8th and hopefully he’ll have a 2.5 to 3.5 bWAR season.
I wonder if this means the end of the trade pursuit for 2nd
Doubt it. Just adds Matos to the package.
Big regression candidate but that seems like a nice, low-risk deal. I thought Bader would do a lot better given the thin market.
Bader’s a victim, of sorts, of the floor for front offices rising year after year. There isn’t anyone still in the business who can’t see through a terrific year built entirely on freakish good luck.
What a steal. He didn’t even get Yaz money.
He got more than Yaz ever got.
Yaz signed in Atlanta for 2/23.
Wilmer: Steal? He’ll bat .242. Mark my words.
Still 30 points higher than Yaz hit the last few years for us
I’d be fine if he hits .242 as long as he gets on base north of .310, hits 15-20 home runs, steals 10-15 bases and plays elite D.
I think it’s optimistic to think he’ll hit as many HRs this year. I’d mark him down for 12, but that’s not why Buster signed him. Hopefully Harrison can add to his 24 doubles of last season.
Not bad, Mr. Posey. Not bad
I don’t buy Lee’s defensive metrics; I think they got him confused with Heliot Ramos.
Lee can catch the ball just fine but he routinely gets bad jumps on balls, takes poor routes etc.. which surprised me because he won 5 Gold Gloves in Korea. He should be much better in right field, where also to my surprise he has a cannon for an arm.
I predict he’ll become a GG candidate in Rf. Cf is EXTREMELY different than Rf. The biggest difference is having a fielder on each side of you. Kinda too much to think about maybe? But in rf you only have 1 and a foul line. Yaz was way better in rf than in cf.
Now move Ramos to DH. It would immediately make the team better.
They have too many DHs already
Devers at first. They can platoon Matos and Gilbert in left and DH Ramos until Eldridge is ready and at that point they can re-shuffle the deck.
DH already locked up with Eldridge & Devers
Ramos said he wants to get better & improve his defense. Hopefully new coaching staff can correct his defensive shortcomings
Ramos is actually quite good coming in on a ball. It’s when he has to go back that is a problem.
wise sign for the Giants. esp at just 2 yrs. I was really hoping that the Orioles would sign him as Cowser is still improved defensively in CF. well, one way to find out if he can translate his field play in the minors to Camden Yards center.
I’m surprised why there wasn’t a bigger market for him ? Excellent fielder , reasonable hitter. He seems to be putting in the effort to be consistent. Has proven himself in big markets. I guess teams think his BABIP is a fluke but I don’t think it is.
Not a great bat. See his career stats.
YC
“BABIP is a fluke but I don’t think it is”
Why is that?
Love this. Great to see us address a glaring need under excellent terms with no qualifying offer to compensate.
Obligatory: THE GIANTS ARE RUINING BASEBALL
They tried, imagine if they got Harper, Judge, and Ohtani
The certainly signed someone who plays baseball.
Aaron Rowand v.2 except a lower batting average.
…and higher strikeout percentage, which would be great if he was a pitcher.
Combo of Rowand and Dykstra
God, no!
Thank you Buster!
“Thank you for the injury-prone guy in his 30s who’s a career .240 hitter”
Could be a great defensive outfield.
Will need the infield to carry the offense most nights, but they are capable of doing so.
Bader is actually coming off what is probably the second best season of his career. Kind of an under-the-radar signing for the Giants.
Will Buster tell Bader to keep the mouth guard in his mouth?
It’s not at all under the radar, His past 2-3 deals have been one year deals because he is injury-prone, in his 30s, and doesn’t have a great bat. They didn’t swoop in and steal him under everyones noses, they knew he was there. Other teams were only mildly interested at best. Otherwise he would have been able to sign for more than $10mil/per
This just further staples Cashman’s bonehead move giving Grisham the $22 million QO when Bader is a RH bat and hits leadoff for $10 million avv over 2 yrs! Steinbrenner better wake the f-ck up cause his GM sucks!
He’s not a leadoff hitter with his career.313 OBP. He shouldn’t be anyway.
Apples to oranges, Anthony. Grish has way more power and YS is good for his hitting profile.
Sigh.
I’ll take it. Good move!
Happy for Bader to get more than a year deal. He will thrive on defense but I think he will revert to his norm offensively. The park in San Francisco isn’t helpful offensively.
Oracle isn’t good for HRs, but is decent for 2Bs, tied for 11th overall, and is excellent for 3Bs, ranking 5th. Bader’s HR totals will surely drop, but he’ll probably improve on his 24 2Bs at the least.
4 homers in 60abs in Oracle. Savant says he would have had 17 in Oracle last season. He’ll hit here
It’s interesting that he had the same # of HRs as 2Bs last season. I’d be fine with 17 HRs.
He had 24 doubles last year.
Fair assessment.
If he’s 2025 with the bat and not 2022-2024, this is a really good signing.
Really thought the angels would get him
They probably offered him an unappealing 1-year deal.
1yr/$3mil lol
Pretty good price too, his defense in that big outfield for the Giants will more than make up for any possible regression with the bat.
So the Mets could have had, for similar money, Bader for 2 years instead of Robert for one and kept prospects? Very un Stearns like
LGM: Robert’s upside vastly greater than Bader’s.
And the “prospects” they gave up weren’t much.
One guy is a gold Glover, silver slugger and when healthy a guy that’s gonna fetch mvp votes. The other is Harrison Bader
Bader higher floor
Robert higher ceiling
Curious how a prospect like the Tigers’ Hao-Yu Lee would fit here. He’s overdue for an MLB callup, and part of a big 2B logjam for the Tigers at AAA (Max Anderson is a better hitter at this point, Jace Jung not quite living up to expectations, Lee in the middle).
No one is overdue for a callup. If they were good enough they would be called up
Good now Phillies won’t be tempted to waste money on him
Great news! It means he won’t clutter the Mets outfield. I predict he’ll never duplicate his production of last year.
He won’t.
“With Bader turning 32 in June, it’s fair to at least wonder whether he’ll begin to slow down over the next two seasons.“ No, it’s not fair to wonder. I understand the next sentence places a positive spin on this quote, but players are not pieces of meat and people are not their age.
xkevin: “not pieces of meat”? That’s pretty dramatic, brother. The statement that aroused your ire is anodyne.
@xk, players are paid to perform at elite levels and playing sports is a skill set which diminishes quickly. It’s a hard reality, but one which every professional athlete understands, yet this fact eludes you?
It’s quite fair to wonder, especially when an injury-prone player like Bader suddenly has a very good healthy season in his walk year.
What a strange thing to take offense to.
“IT’S NOT FAIR!! A players age or regression shouldn’t matter!!”
-Harrison Bader’s mom, probably
The Phils have obviously committed themselves to sit back and watch the Mets and possibly Braves claim leadership of the NL East. It will take a lot of wishful thinking and use of rose-colored glasses to paint this season as anything but over for the Phils before it even begins. In their haste to get rid of Castellanos, the Phils have lost sight of the fact they have a pathetic outfield being held together by a bunch of what-if’s.
What if Crawford is as good as they say, what if Rojas finally learned how to bunt and keep his mind on the game, what if De La Cruz brings his winter ball game back to the majors, what if Garcia time travels back to 2023 and rediscovers his game, what if Marsh gains an extra step on defense and learns how to hit righties, and what if Kemp can come off the bench and deliver when ever he’s needed.
If the Phils had any brains at all, they would have signed Bader, who sparked them mightily through the second half of 2025, to $22 million over 2 years with a third year mutual option. If they had any brains, they’d keep Castellanos whose numbers and experience are still better than most of this year’s free agent outfielders. Castellanos, Bader, and Crawford are a better outfield than what they are planning in 2026. Of course, even if they only had a few neurons with weak synaptic links, they would have never resigned Schwarber to a 5-year $150 million contract that disables them financially for years to come. That money could have gone toward a game-changer who, unlike Schwarber, can contribute on defense and run the bases.
To think that by adding Bader and Jazz Chisolm at very little cost the Phils could have been competitive in 2026. Of course, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. The word is Bader probably didn’t want to return to Philly. Suarez left, Strahm opened his mouth – probably to get traded, Castellanos told his manager how to start managing last season, and Realmuto obviously had his doubts about returning.
Truth is, not every players wants to play in Philly, and maybe it’s not just the fans – maybe its also the organization, the coaching, and playing next to a non-elite elitist who will make $27 million a year in perpetuity, a second-baseman who thinks and plays like someone who actually likes bubble gum music, and a DHer who is being paid $30 million a year to swing the bat 4 times a game, take batting practice between innings, and be forgiven every time he leaves runners on base – especially in clutch situations.
I don’t blame the players who left or about to leave the Phils for greener pastures, and I hope they find what they’re looking for and make the Phils regret not giving them a better reason to stay in Philly. I’ve been a Phillies fan since the days of Connie Mack Stadium, and I rooted for the Phils even when the only hope was the Cubs, rather than the Phils, would finish in the cellar again. But in all honesty, the Phils organization is making it difficult to feel encouraged by the team they’ve been putting on the field for the past few seasons. The Phils’ leadership’s faulty direction, abject shortsightedness, and penny-wise, pound foolish business practices are even worse than their projected outfield – and that’s saying a lot.
We stopped making pennies.
Wow, I just wasted my time reading 6 paragraphs of utter nonsense. Was very funny and entertaining though.
onthebucks: Mets fan here. Sorry, but I sure hope you’re right!
I like the defensive upgrade. Lots of outfield to cover at Oracle. Much better than Lee. Lee seems tentavive in CF, probably a little gun shy from the injury in 2024. I have a feeling he’ll get a little less playing time depending on what he’s doing offensively. Unless Ramos is used in a trade for 2B the Bader signing is going to help him in LF too. Ramos got hit by pitches so often he had nagging injuries but wanted in the lineup. I like players who play with nagging injuries. We have a number of tough players now throughout the roster. I wonder how many OF’s the Giants will break camp with. I still think Matos has a future with the Giants unless they use him in a trade package. Buster is doing what he can to build a competitive roster. It’s up to the players and coaches to perform.
If Ramos had nagging injuries but wanted in the line up, no way should Melvin have had him batting leadoff.
I don’t think Ramos should have batted leadoff at all. Never could understand that. Even though not ideal I think Lee should have hit there. Maybe Lee could have fared better knowing he was needed as a bit more of an on base type hitter rather than the approach of trying to be the type of hitter he was. A hitter’s approach has to coincide with where he hits in the lineup. Having a set batting order allows hitters to hone their approach. Melvin’s batting order didn’t make sense a lot of the time.
The SF Giants have a blueprint for winning, pitching, defense and timely hitting/quality ABs. I like the signing for a couple of reasons, one the big OF at Oracle, that you have 2 CF covering the 3 spots is a huge plus. His being RH, Oracle is fair to RHH and I think Bader’s power will play here.
I like the lineup flexibility, while neither Lee nor Bader need a platoon partner on any given day depending on the other teams SP can choose to sit one and play the other in CF vs watching SF run out Yaz, Ramos, Gilbert try to “fake it” in CF.
Roster resource projects a 26 man roster than has all of Gilbert (4th OF), Encarnacion (1B/OF) and Eldridge (DH) on the roster. Koss/Susac being the other bench players. SFG likely still in the market for a 2nd baseman.
Matos must not be on that projected roster, if Encarnacion is.
The Giants might have the blueprint, but they don’t have the materials.
Why does it seem like Bader signs with two teams every offseason
He got an autopen for Xmas a couple years ago.
First thing I thought of was the Conforto signing. Hope this works out better than that.
Thank god. I was scared the Sox were going to sign him.
I blows my mind how undervalued Bader is. Congrats to the Giants. His glove and speed will play well out there.
Gotta feel sorry for Bader. With Ramos on one side and Lee on the other, the Giants will nee to give Bader a bicycle out there in CF.
They cannot go with Ramos anymore, he is awful, His bat is the only thing he has.
The Phillies went backwards this winter. Nice work, Dave.
And the Phillies joke of an off-season continues. They signed max Kepler and other drek to $10 million contracts but they can’t re-sign a fan favorite who could win a gold glove to $10 million. Just his defense alone is worth 10 million. I don’t understand what the Phillies are thinking. Maybe they just want high draft pick next year.
Marc
They are thinking Justin can play CF and that Adolis has a superior bat to Harrison.
I don’t know if you ever look at the teams top 30 prospects but the scouts put together an 80/20 on every prospect. 80 meaning Hall of Fame. 70 meaning excellent player and so forth. Justin Crawford was a 55 defense and 55 arm last year. This year he is a 50/50 which means they watched him play. I don’t think he’s gonna hit that level for defense. Which is why many scouts think he’s better off and left field. But whatever the case may be, I wish him well, but they should have traded Brandon and moved just into left field and reassigned Harrison Bader in my opinion.
Trade Brandon for what? A rosin bag? He has 0 trade value. Every GM and team in baseball know he can’t hit left handed pitching
Well, you’re kind of making my point. He’s not worth anything because he’s not a good player. He’s a dime a dozen, but oh I’m glad we got Harrison Bader out of here to keep him.
The Lee bashing shows ignorance. Typical of many “know it alls”. 2025 first full season so essentially rookie season. .266 (.274 at oracle). 73 runs. 31 doubles 12 triples 8 homers 10 steals. Rookies with those numbers would make, gee idk, equal to Lee money. So many clowns here.
WORD !
Not only that……beyond the early numbers, he is good to watch ! And, his fan base looks to bring great energy and good vibes to the place. Plenty of positives with Lee.
Re Ramos, there must be some team that needs rh power as a DH. I’d like to see him dealt. Bad D but even worse is his hitting vs NLWEST. It’s awful. I didn’t calculate it but I estimate it’s around .200. He has ZERO homers in Denver. Not good. Matos deserves the chance Ramos got imo.
2025. 37 for 196 vs NLWest. .189. 6hrs. Not good. Vs Dodgers, .114avg.
His baserunning wasn’t very good either.
Like Keystone Cops bad
The walk off little league home run was classic base running.
Love the sarcasm. Lucky to not get thrown out 2 different instances.
I think Ramos has had a good year and half with the bat and exceeded expectations. We are thin with young hitters in our system so it’s a plus…
I think Lee will progress, but even if he fails to, it’s far too soon to declare him a failed signing. Doing so is a rookie mistake.
They were boring. It’s was one of the fans biggest gripes. They did what it takes to get him. I’ve got him as an asset.
Aussie Hooleegan huh ?
If they make a mistake and I am allowed into your country for a trip to Oracle, I’m looking forward to watching Lee. Good energy.
Make sure you’re rocking the foam hair on fire.
Maybe this year they will get him a chin strap for his helmet. That guy swings out of it, or runs out of it with every at bat. He is fun to watch.
Who do the Giants DFA? Encarnacion?
they can choose from this batch of bottom dwellers:
Reiver Sanmartin
Kai-Wei Teng
Those are guys on the bubble. Tengs numbers aren’t pretty but he has a tantalizing array of pitches and Sanmartin has had a monster last 12 months in the minors and winter ball. Encarnacion is my pick unless they make a trade.
I’m going Brubaker.
Except they already guaranteed him 1.8mil. Otherwise he’d be my choice too.
Did not know this…
He was still arb eligible and Buster locked him in at 1.82mil per roster resource and Cots contracts. Same salary as the Yankees paid him last year.
I guess Buster sees him as a swingman..
Hopefully they trade two off the 40 man in a package for Donovan, problem solved.
They haven’t put Randy Rodriguez on 60 day IL yet.
That will help, but in a couple of weeks.
I’m pretty sure Foley will go on the 60 day IL as well. He’s not supposed to be ready until June. Pitchers and catchers report 2 weeks from tomorrow. I think that’s the day they can transfer players to the 60 day.
Jung Hoo Lee has not lived up to the price, he was supposed to be that leadoff CF for them. Turns out he cannot hit better than .260 ish and cannot field CF.
now Giants have an overpaid player who only fits in lower part of batting order. Maybe he becomes the LF because what they have in Left is swiss cheese on defense.
Data
Let’s check the data
He hardly played his first year and wasn’t very good
Last year, he was fine. An above average hitter (107 wRC+) and averagish player (2.4 fWAR).
FanGraphs projects him for similar this year (111 wRC+ and 2.9 fWAR/609 PA).
FanGraphs valued his production last year at $19 million. He’s being paid $19 million a year
Excellent points. Also, J. H. Lee was coming off a severe ankle break during his first year in SF, and a disastrous shoulder injury his second year. With a move to a corner outfield spot, more familiarity with the ballpark (and culture) and – most of all – distancing himself from the injuries – I’m expecting a career year from J. H. Lee in 2026.
I’m not predicting an All Star campaign; but it would be close. Dude could even win a Gold glove in LF, if that’s where Jung Hoo ends up.
Humm Baby, Mostly agree except, Lee’s shoulder injury was in his first season, not the second. The ankle injury was in his final KBO season. He appeared completely recovered by the start of his Giant’s career. Lee’s arm would be wasted in LF.
Sorry, I meant that Lee played his second season coming off the severe shoulder injury. I could have been clearer in my wording. Sometimes those things can take a while (more than a year) to heal completely.
Lee admitted the injury impacted his play, making him less aggressive going back on balls near the wall. At any rate, his defensive metrics should look much better in RF vs. CF.
So for $20.5 million, the Phillies missed out on solidifying their outfield with a proven player that got along with probably 99% of the clubhouse. Instead they are rolling the dice with a guy who hasn’t had a good season in two years with Garcia and a nice prospect that hasn’t proved he can hit major league pitching consistently. And 20.5 mil is not a lot of money for the Phillies. They make that in keychain sales at the team store.
Not resigning Bader is a big mistake.
Got to sign a guy like Andujar now.
And I don’t want to see Rojas either. He’s a AAAA- player.
Huh? Proven player? Have you looked at his career stats? His career batting average is .247. Johan Rojas career batting average is better at .252. And no one (nor I) believes Rojas is that great. Career wise per ABs Bader has 4 times as many ABs Rojas – RBI wise Rojas (73 RBIs) to Bader (322 or 80 RBIs) per career ABs ratio. And Rojas (51) has more SB than Bader (105 or 26 SB) per career ABs ratio.
He’s not as great as he had shown in his 2 month stint in Philly. Why do you think team’s weren’t jumping at the opportunity to sign him.
This is why he played for 6 teams in 9 years and now will be on the 7th team in 10 years.
ay
“His career batting average is .247. Johan Rojas career batting average is better at .252. And no one (nor I) believes Rojas is that great. Career wise per ABs Bader has 4 times as many ABs Rojas – RBI wise Rojas (73 RBIs) to Bader (322 or 80 RBIs) per career ABs ratio. And Rojas (51) has more SB than Bader (105 or 26 SB) per career ABs ratio.”
Batting average and RBI ratio? What?
“Huh? Proven player? Have you looked at his career stats? ”
What do you think “proven player” means? It’s not having a career batting average above .250 or whatever point it looks like you were trying to make.
Bader has been a consistently productive player. He has never had a “bad” season – one in which he’s been near replacement level. He’s almost always above 1.5 fWAR per 600 PA. He’s not a star, but he performs. That’s “proven” in my book.
Ok, I guess we are looking at different career stats in Bader. Here’s my source, mlb.com/player/harrison-bader-664056
He looked pretty consistent as an “under .250 hitter” for his career.
And if he performs, then why has he played for 7 teams in 10 years. Someone who performs wouldn’t be traded or dropped that many times.
ay
What?
I’m not disturbing that his rate of hits to plate appearances minus walks, hit by pitches, sacrifices, etc isn’t below 25%
I’m saying who cares?
That’s not what defines a proven player.
Batting average ignores hitting for power, it doesn’t tell you how often a player avoids getting out, it tells you nothing about base running and defense.
Why on earth are you using it to talk about if a player is a proven player or not?
When you look at all the above, which is what WAR does, you see that Bader is a consistently productive player.
“Someone who performs wouldn’t be traded or dropped that many times”
Saying something doesn’t make it true.
Ok, you’re correct. He’s proven he can’t play more than 100 games a year for more than 2 years in a row. Good luck with getting that proven performance out of him for that 2 year $20 million contract.
Enough said on the subject. Check back with me at the end of the 2026 season.
ay
He’s never had a bad season. His performance is always there. Even with the injuries
I say that that’s “proven”
You seem to be suffering from GOAT or Trash Syndrome. Where you can only see players as the best ever or useless. Bader is neither of those.
As I said, talk to me at the end of the 2026 season.
ayeah
About what?
Spell out exactly what you think is going to happen. With something falsifiable.
I see you’re showing your naivety more.
ay
Spell out your claim. With something falsifiable.
No “he’s going to suck” or “he won’t be worth it”.
Bader is one of the fastest players in baseball.
CF at Oracle is 3rd in size behind Comerica, and Coors. Plus it might be easier to play than Fenway. Not only does Fenway go from a shallow left-center to a very deep right-center, it has more odd angles.
Who ya calling odd? You’re odd
Guilty.
Harrison Bader: isn’t that Leia’s kid who fought Rey to a standstill
Great news! This is my favorite move of the Giants’ off season lol. We need his glove in CF, he’ll be fun to watch
as a Dodger fan i was hoping they signed Bader instead of Tucker tbh. just seemed like a better fit and at.a fraction of the cost. good signing by SF i know he’s going to spank us every time the teams play.
Wren
As a Dodger fan, *I* would rather have Tucker, the much better player.
i get that. hopefully he stays healthy. always appreciated Baders game is all.
Sure
If we didn’t get Tucker, I would have been on with Bader
Good. Now I can stop hearing the Phillies fans who saw him at his finest in a 2 month stint stop saying the Phillies should re-sign him.
He’s not that great – long run wise. (full season) He was just in a contract year so was giving his all. See what he does for the Giants full season.
Finally filling the void left after the Mays to the Mets trade.
Bader? I don’t even know her!
Looks like the Phillies will once again roll out mediocre platoons at two outfield spots. I don’t understand anything Dombrowski is doing. It seems like they won’t sign another player until they trade Castellanos, but he has have lost all leverage by publicly stating that Castellanos won’t be on the team again.
Phillies still have Marsh. Tell him to dry his hair so he’ll be a step faster. Cut it completely off and 2 steps faster.
If it works call Charlie Blackmon stat.
Two dude’s that can retire, get cleaned up and disappear from the public eye.
Great for that park. Rockies should have been in on him.
Ya know Steve, perhaps in parentheses, you could identify DRS and OAA and the like. I am on this site every day but do not spend a lot of time looking at the latest measurements, which are invented seemingly weekly. With that said, love your columns and chats.
Thanks.
Anthony Castrovince wrote a good book on the modern baseball analytics – “A Fan’s Guide to Baseball Analytics”.
There are plenty of places on the internet to get information on modern stats but it is an entertaining read. If you are not familiar with Castrovince, he is an MLB writer and a pretty funny guy.
Defense speed is worth 10m. California $ it’s a A.
Granny Mildred misses you in the Twin Cities, Bater. Good luck in Francisco, the orange and black bayybee
Would have solved a lot of problems for the Angels. Sell the team, Arte!
Telling Arte to sell the team has not worked. Maybe we should pivot, and tell him to keep the team. Reverse psychology.
“Much of Bader’s success can be attributed to an increase in playing time ”
You don’t think that you got this backwards?
Anyone else sick of MLTR bumping stories? Ya I saw this yesterday.
They repost after any edit is my guess.
You will be ok with bed rest.
When a story shows it was posted recently (35 minutes, 50 minutes, etc) that means it was edited or info was added. It’s easy to understand or should be easy. But as OGF said, rest and liquids should help
Good signing. Cant help but to like this guy, great CF’er, just has a sporadic bat.
So, they have $20 million left. I don’t think that’s enough to get Framber for 1 year, but $30 million might be if they are willing to take the hit.
Posey wants to build the organization, similar to Dodgers. Starts with good scouting, drafting, and player development. Again, Dodgers way. The system is “night and day” better as recently reported. Then prospect depth leads to trade fodder. Dodgers way. As currently constructed, Giants won’t match LA by trying to outspend LA. So, signing Framber will cost picks and IFA money. Not happening if Posey wants to continue to build. Adames was a one off for Posey. Best shortstop available and cost picks and $. People want to talk about losing Rogers and Doval but ignore the fact that they got a good haul. Great haul. And getting Devers was huge. All the above? What Dodgers did. Posey is working hard and showing a strong organizational future. Sorry, long indeed way of saying Framber not coming BUT trades might be.
Do you think Parks Harber, Whisenhunt and a AA arm would be enough for Donovan ?
Think it would take those three, plus losing one more pedigreed prospect like Jhonny Level or Bo Davidson. Someone who it would really be tough to give up, but I would still do the deal in a heartbeat.
Landing a legit 2B might be the different between the playoffs and no postseason this year for the Giants. Schmitt seems best suited for a super-utility role. Depth is so important in today’s MLB.
Only Luis Hernandez and Josuar Gonzlalez should remain untouchable. Would totally trade Eldridge for a frontline starting pitcher, as was rumored with Freddy Peralta and Joe Ryan at various times. With his 35% strike out rate (32% for his minor league career), not sure Bryce is ready for the pros yet.
“Build like the Dodgers”
By build do you mean buy?
San Fran drinking the Baderade! Go get ’em Harry B!
Bader is a great addition to the Giants, adds 2-3 wins!
Now, would love to see:
– Heliot Ramos + Luis Matos traded for lefty Kris Bubic
– SF Giants somehow acquire Steven Kwan for LF
– Giants trade for Brendan Donovan
– Finally, re-sign Justin Verlander for SP depth
– If JV doesn’t want to come back: Giolito, Vasquez or Scherzer
– Give one of the “extra” starting pitchers a shot at closing: Houser or Mahle
Great signing, if he plays well he will bring a good return at the deadline if they fall too far back of the playoff race. If they’re in it he will really help the pitching staff stay in games.
He’ll be a nice defensive upgrade in CF. I would expect his bat to take hit in that park, but a good signing and a good deal.
This seems like a much better signing than Arraez.
“Strong as last year’s performance was” is NOT proper English. You can’t just leave “as” out at the start of the sentence because you feel like it. Grammar is not optional, especially when you’re being paid to write.