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Harrison Bader

Phillies Acquire Harrison Bader

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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

Mets, Yankees Have Shown Interest In Harrison Bader

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The Dodgers, Mets and Yankees have all shown interested in Twins outfielder Harrison Bader, reports Jorge Castillo of ESPN. The interest from the Dodgers was reported by Bob Nightengale of USA Today yesterday.

Bader, 31, has long been a useful big leaguer on account of his speed and defense. His offense has been more mercurial but he’s currently in the midst of what could be his best season at the plate. In 298 plate appearances, he already has 12 home runs. Only once in his career has he hit more than that, which was the 16 he hit in 2021. His 26.2% strikeout rate is a bit high but his 8.7% walk rate is his best mark in years.

On the whole, he has a .255/.336/.441 line this year. His 118 wRC+, a career high, indicates he has been 18% better than league average at the plate this year. Thanks to nine stolen bases and some quality glovework, he’s already been worth 2.0 wins above replacement on the year, in the eyes of FanGraphs.

The Twins seem to be pivoting to sell mode, at least in terms of guys who aren’t core pieces. They are 50-55, a record which puts them 5.5 games back of a playoff spot in the American League. It was reported last week that they were leaning towards making their rental players available. They flipped Chris Paddack to the Tigers earlier today. It’s likely that Bader, Christian Vázquez, Danny Coulombe, Ty France and Willi Castro will follow in the coming days.

Bader signed a one-year, $6.25MM deal with the Twins in the offseason. That guarantee came in the form of a $750K signing bonus, a $4MM salary, and a $1.5MM buyout on a mutual option. Mutual options are essentially never picked up by both sides, which is why Bader will be viewed as a rental. His buyout can also increase via plate appearance incentives. He would add $200K at 400, 425 and 450 plate appearances, then $450K at 475 and 500. He came into tonight’s game with 298 trips to the plate. His deal also has a $500K assignment bonus if he’s traded.

Though he has mostly been playing left field this year, that has been out of deference to Byron Buxton. Suitors calling the Twins will likely view Bader as a center fielder, since he’s perfectly capable of sliding back to that spot.

Even with the little extra bits in his contract, Bader’s price is still attractive. Some of the other notable center field options on the market are Cedric Mullins and Luis Robert Jr. Mullins is making $8.725MM and has been in a rough slump since April. Robert is making $15MM this year and is also owed at least a $2MM buyout on his $20MM club option for next year. He’s been hitting better lately but is having a bad season overall.

The Mets and Yankees would both be logical landing spots for Bader. He has already played for both New York clubs, so there’s already familiarity there. The Mets have already been connected to Robert and Mullins. They came into the year with Jose Siri and Tyrone Taylor as their center field options. Siri suffered a fractured shin a couple of weeks into the season and has been on the IL since. He still hasn’t started a rehab assignment. Taylor has a dismal .204/.260/.298 line at the plate this year.

Lately, Jeff McNeil has taken over the center field job. If the Mets were to acquire a center fielder, McNeil could move back to the infield. The Mets have a cluttered infield mix with Mark Vientos, Brett Baty, Ronny Mauricio and Luisangel Acuña. They are reportedly open to trading from that group of younger players, however, so it’s possible the roster gets shaken up in a few different ways this week.

For the Yankees, they just lost Aaron Judge to the injured list with a flexor strain. They now have a regular outfield alignment of Cody Bellinger, Trent Grisham and Jasson Domínguez. Bellinger and Grisham are both lefties while Domínguez is a switch-hitter who is far better against right-handed pitchers. Bringing in a righty bat like Bader to complement that group makes a lot of sense. Bader has fairly neutral splits in 2025 but has been better against lefties in his career. He has hit .248/.315/.461 against lefties for a 110 wRC+ overall, with a career .241/.307/.374 slash and 87 wRC+ against righties.

Both the Mets and the Yankees are third-time payors of the competitive balance tax. Both clubs are also above the top CBT threshold this year. That means each club faces a 110% tax bill for any spending they add to the ledger for the rest of the season. Bader’s relatively modest salary should therefore be appealing to both clubs for the same reason.

Photo courtesy of Matt Blewett, Imagn Images

Dodgers Interested In Harrison Bader

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While the Dodgers are widely expected to focus their trade deadline on pursuing high-leverage help in the bullpen, they could also stand to add another bat given the paltry production they’ve received from Michael Conforto (79 wRC+) in left field. They’ve previously been connected to Cardinals super utility man Brendan Donovan, and this morning USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reports that Los Angeles has interest in another outfield option: Harrison Bader of the Twins.

Bader, 31, has enjoyed his strongest offensive season in years after signing in Minnesota on a one-year deal this past offseason. He’s slashed a strong .250/.332/.435 (115 wRC+) in 92 games for the Twins this year with 12 home runs, nine stolen bases, and excellent outfield defense. The gifted defender has typically been deployed in center field throughout his career, but has primarily played left field this year in deference to Twins franchise face Byron Buxton, an elite center fielder in his own right. Andy Pages is currently patrolling center field for the Dodgers and is performing well on both offense (126 wRC+) and defense, but Bader’s elite glove could push Pages into a corner and Conforto to the bench if acquired.

The addition of Bader would help bolster a rare weak spot in the Dodgers’ daunting lineup. For all the club’s star power and overall offensive ability, its outfield is pedestrian overall. Dodgers outfielders have posted a combined wRC+ of 102 this year (12th in the majors), with 3.3 fWAR (16th in the majors). Adding Bader’s excellent glove and solid bat to the mix would go a long way to help make up for the offensive malaise key contributors like Mookie Betts, Teoscar Hernandez, and more recently Freddie Freeman have found themselves in at various points in the season.

Of course, Bader is far from the only player who could theoretically be an upgrade for the Dodgers in the outfield. As previously mentioned, they’ve already been connected to Donovan. A number of other intriguing outfielders are expected to be available this summer as well, including Ramon Laureano of the Orioles, Luis Robert Jr. of the White Sox, and Jesus Sanchez of the Marlins. Laureano and Robert (as well as Bader himself) would be particularly strong fits given that their right-handed bats can serve as a solid complement to the lefty Conforto, although even a left-handed outfielder like Sanchez or Mike Tauchman of the White Sox would offer a boost to the club’s production on the grass.

As for Bader, the Dodgers are the first team he’s been explicitly connected to but Aaron Gleeman of The Athletic reported yesterday that he’s expected to have a “solid market” this summer as the Twins dangle their rental pieces. Teams like the Phillies, Padres, and Royals are in clear need of outfield help, and perhaps even clubs like the Yankees, Reds and Blue Jays with heavily left-handed outfield options could use another right-handed complement to those existing players as well.

Twins More Seriously Listening To Offers On Rental Players

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The Twins have stumbled out of the gate with a 1-3 record in the second half and are beginning to more seriously weigh trades of their short-term players, reports Jon Heyman of the New York Post. Utilityman Willi Castro, outfielder Harrison Bader and left-handed reliever Danny Coulombe are the team’s three most appealing free agents, but the Twins also have righty Chris Paddack, first baseman Ty France and backup catcher Christian Vazquez set to hit the market at season’s end.

[Related: Minnesota Twins Trade Deadline Outlook]

Of course, more of the focus for contending clubs will be on Minnesota’s more controllable and higher-profile talents. Top starter Joe Ryan and high-leverage relievers Jhoan Duran and Griffin Jax will draw widespread interest. Heyman notes that Twins brass won’t turn interested clubs away without hearing them out, but the they would understandably need to be bowled over to consider moving anyone from that group. All three pitchers are controlled for two additional seasons beyond the current campaign.

Among the rental players, Castro fits the broadest number of teams, given his versatility. The 28-year-old switch-hitter is enjoying a nice season at the plate, hitting .258/.350/.435 with 10 homers, 14 doubles, two triples, eight steals (ten attempts) and a career-best 10% walk rate. He’s been productive from both sides of the dish, has above-average speed (74th percentile, per Statcast) and is capable of playing second base, shortstop, third base and the outfield (although defensive metrics have panned his work at shortstop and in center). Castro is earning $6.4MM, making him affordable for virtually any contender.

Bader’s defensive excellence and bounceback year at the plate ought to garner plenty of interest as well. He’s hitting .249/.330/.438 as Minnesota’s primary left fielder, but he’s only in left because of Byron Buxton’s presence in center. Bader still grades out brilliantly at any outfield slot, and while he’s typically showed notable platoon splits, he’s posted nearly identical numbers against righties and lefties alike in 2025. By measure of wRC+, Bader has been 15% better than average at the plate. He’s sporting his highest walk rate in a 162-game season since 2019 and hitting for more power than he has since 2021 (12 home runs, 11 doubles, .189 ISO in 282 plate appearances). He’s on a one-year, $6.25MM contract with a mutual option that obviously won’t be exercised by both parties.

Coulombe has been quietly terrific. He missed three weeks earlier in the season with a forearm strain but has shown no ill effects. His 0.65 ERA in 27 2/3 frames is the best in baseball among the 433 pitchers who’ve tossed at least 20 innings, and Coulombe has fanned 26.9% of his opponents against a 6.5% walk rate. He doesn’t throw hard (90.2 mph average fastball) and isn’t going to make it the whole season without surrendering a home run — he’s currently yet to do so — but there aren’t many better left-handed options on the market. He’s playing on a one-year, $3MM contract.

The rest of the Twins’ rental options have some track record but are in the midst of poor seasons. Paddack still has good command, but he’s sitting on a 5.14 ERA and career-worst 16.4% strikeout rate. He had a nice run from mid-April to mid-June, but Paddack has never really held up for a whole season under a starter’s workload and has been hit hard since mid-June. He looked impressive in relief when he came back from Tommy John surgery in 2023 and is making a relatively affordable $7.5MM this season, so perhaps a club might roll the dice on him as a bullpen option. Otherwise, his appeal as a fifth starter is fairly limited.

France had a nice start but has seen his role decrease and is now mired in an awful 5-for-41 slump that’s dropped his previously solid batting line to .245/.309/.348. He’s not striking out and has played a strong first base, but he’s a bat-first player who’s in his third straight down year at the plate. France’s $1MM salary is low enough that another club could well roll the dice on adding him to its bench, but he’s not going to net the Twins anything of substance in a trade.

The 34-year-old Vazquez is in the final season of a three-year, $30MM contract that hasn’t gone as hoped. He was always signed to be a glove-first catcher and remains a plus defender, but his once-passable offense has cratered and he’s been thoroughly outplayed by Ryan Jeffers, who has long since claimed the starting role in Minnesota. Vazquez’s .182/.249/.260 batting line in 159 plate appearances is among the least-productive in baseball. He’s still such a good defender that another club might take him on if the Twins ate most of the money he’s owed, but like France and Paddack, he’s not going to net a prospect of any real note.

There are other players the Twins could conceivably market. Right-handed reliever Justin Topa has pitched decently on a $1MM salary and has a cheap $2MM club option for the 2026 season. The aforementioned Jeffers is in his penultimate season of club control, but the Twins lack an heir apparent in the upper minors and starting catchers rarely change teams midseason. Trevor Larnach has been a roughly league-average bat at DH and in the outfield corners and is controlled two more seasons beyond the current one. Righty Brock Stewart has been excellent since the Twins signed him to a minor league deal a couple years back (2.44 ERA, 32.6 K% in 73 2/3 innings since 2022), but he’s frequently been injured. He’s being paid $870K and has two seasons of club control remaining. He could be a nice bullpen piece in future Twins seasons, but if a team is willing to make a decent offer, there could be some temptation to sell high as well.

One player clearly not going anywhere is Buxton. The 2025 All-Star is signed for three more seasons, has a full no-trade clause, and during last week’s All-Star break called himself a “Minnesota Twin for the rest of my life.”

Looking Ahead To Club Options: AL Central

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MLBTR continues our division by division look at next year’s team/mutual option class with the AL Central. Virtually all of the mutual options will be bought out by one side. Generally, if the team is willing to retain the player at the option price, the player will decline his end in search of a better free agent deal.

Previous installments: player options/opt-outs, NL West, AL West, NL Central

Chicago White Sox

Pérez signed a $5MM free agent deal to serve as the veteran presence in a very young White Sox rotation. Chicago hoped he’d pitch well enough in the first half to net a lottery ticket prospect at the deadline. Pérez was reasonably effective through his first three starts, but he came out of his fourth outing with forearm discomfort. A flexor strain diagnosis immediately sent him to the 60-day injured list. He’s expected to avoid surgery but will miss almost the entire season. A deadline trade is off the table, and he’ll be bought out at season’s end.

As recently as a few months ago, Robert’s $20MM club option looked like excellent value, as did the matching option for 2026. He was a down-ballot MVP performer in 2023, when he hit .264/.315/.542 with 38 homers while playing plus center field defense. The ’24 campaign was a struggle. Robert missed nearly two months early in the season with a hip flexor strain and was unproductive when healthy. He hit .224/.278/.379 with 14 homers in 100 games. Chicago held him into this year rather than sell low in an offseason trade.

That put a lot of pressure on Robert to hit early in the year. An excellent few months could make him one of the top position players available at the deadline. A terrible start might tank what remained of his trade value. The early returns are disastrous: .138/.255/.238 with 30 strikeouts in 96 plate appearances. There’s still time for a turnaround, but Robert may be following in the footsteps of Tim Anderson and Eloy Jiménez — players whose once team-friendly extensions soured to the point that they were traded for meager returns and/or bought out.

Cleveland Guardians

Means underwent UCL surgery last June. That was his second such procedure within the past three years. He’d undergone Tommy John surgery in 2022 and had only just returned before his elbow gave out again. The Guardians took a $1MM flier in free agency. The deal includes a $6MM team option for next season. Means is hoping to return to the mound in August or September. His late-season form will determine whether Cleveland wants to keep him around next year.

If the Guardians exercise the option, Means could unlock up to $2.5MM in performance bonuses. He’d earn $75K apiece at 20, 30, 40 and 50 innings pitched next year. That climbs to $100K each for 60, 70, 80 and 90 frames; $125K at 100, 110, 120 and 130 innings; and $150K apiece for 140 and 150 frames.

Sewald had a pair of above-average seasons as Seattle’s closer between 2022-23. His production started to trend down after a ’23 deadline deal that sent him to Arizona. Sewald remained generally productive through the Snakes’ surprising World Series run that year. Last season was his worst since his 2021 breakout. He allowed a 4.31 ERA with declining velocity through 39 2/3 innings. The Guardians surprisingly guaranteed him $7MM to deepen an already excellent bullpen. The veteran righty has punched out 13 hitters through 10 1/3 frames, but he has already surrendered three homers while averaging just 90.2 MPH on his fastball.

Detroit Tigers

Detroit added Brebbia on a $2.75MM contract early in Spring Training. It was a roll of the dice on the veteran righty’s intriguing swing-and-miss rates. Brebbia had allowed nearly six earned runs per nine innings last season (mostly with the White Sox), but he punched out nearly 28% of opposing hitters. Things have reversed early in his Detroit tenure. Brebbia has only allowed two runs (one earned) over his first nine innings. His 8.8% swinging strike rate is well below average, though, and he’s given out eight free passes — five walks and three hit batters.

Brebbia is working in low-leverage situations that suggest he’s towards the bottom of the bullpen depth chart. He’ll need to turn around his underlying numbers to pitch his way into more meaningful spots and, eventually, to convince the front office to exercise the option.

Brebbia could push the option price by another $4MM based on his performance this year. It’d climb by $500K at 65 appearances, $1MM apiece at 45 and 50 games finished, and by $2MM for 55 games finished. The maximum escalator value is capped at $4MM, so the appearance threshold would essentially be nullified if Brebbia finishes 55 games and pushes the option value to $8MM based on that criteria alone. He has finished six of eight appearances so far.

Urquidy’s situation is similar to that of Means. The former Astros righty required Tommy John surgery last June. Houston waived him at the end of the season. He reunited with A.J. Hinch in Detroit on a $1MM contract. Urquidy won’t be an option until the final few weeks of the season in a best case scenario. Detroit can gauge his progress to determine whether they want to retain him at a $4MM base value. Urquidy could tack on another $3MM if the Tigers exercise the option: $150K each at four and seven starts next year; $300K apiece for 10, 13, 16 and 19 starts; and $500K each at 22, 25 and 28 starts.

Kansas City Royals

  • Michael Lorenzen, RHP ($12MM mutual option, $1.5M buyout if team declines its end)

Kansas City brought Lorenzen back on a $7MM free agent deal. He’s playing on a $5.5MM salary and would collect a $1.5MM buyout on a $12MM mutual option assuming the Royals decline their end. He grabbed a season-opening rotation spot with both Alec Marsh and Kyle Wright on the shelf. Lorenzen has had a customary start to the season. He carried a 4.57 ERA with a below-average 17.7% strikeout rate into this evening’s appearance against the Rockies. He’s through five scoreless innings against Colorado at the time of this writing.

Perez is making $22MM in the final season of the four-year extension that he signed in March 2021. At the time, it was the largest contract in organizational history. (Bobby Witt Jr. has since shattered that record.) Perez is a franchise stalwart, of course, but it was still surprising to see the Royals guarantee him $82MM for his age 32-35 seasons — especially given the heavy workloads he’d taken throughout his career.

The nine-time All-Star has rewarded the team’s faith. He led the majors with 48 homers and 121 RBI in 2021, though he was already under contract for that season anyhow. He combined for a .261/.307/.447 slash over the first three seasons of the extension. Perez eclipsed 20 home runs in each, and he won the AL Silver Slugger Award behind the dish with a .271/.330/.456 showing during last year’s playoff season.

Perez has started this season more slowly. He entered today’s doubleheader with a .185/.235/.293 line, though he has picked up four doubles over two games against Colorado pitching. If this continues all season, the Royals could face a tough decision, but the safer bet right now is that Kansas City will exercise the option. It’s tough to imagine Perez playing anywhere else.

Minnesota Twins

Minnesota added Bader on a $6.25MM contract amidst a quiet offseason. They’ve preferred to have a capable right-handed hitting fourth outfielder who can reduce Byron Buxton’s workload in center field while complementing their lefty-hitting corner bats. Bader has started 18 of the team’s first 25 games. He’s hitting .230/.319/.393 with a trio of home runs through 69 plate appearances. It’s an early improvement over last year’s .236/.284/.373 showing, but it’s unlikely the Twins would exercise their end of a $10MM option.

The bigger factor might be Bader’s semi-regular playing time. He could push the buyout price as high as $3MM based on this season’s plate appearance total. It has a $1.5MM base value and would climb by $200K at 400, 425 and 450 plate appearances, then by $450K at 475 and 500.

Note: Justin Topa’s arbitration contract contains a $2MM club option or a $225K buyout for next season. He’d remain eligible for arbitration if the team declines the option, as he will not have reached six years of service time.

Twins To Give Harrison Bader “Significant” Playing Time In Left Field

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Harrison Bader has covered all three outfield positions in his career, but the vast majority of his playing time has come in center field. That shouldn’t come as any surprise. Bader’s bat is poor, to say the least; he has a career .698 OPS and 90 wRC+. However, most teams can stomach sub-par offense at a premier defensive position like center field, and Bader isn’t just any defender. With 50 Defensive Runs Saved (DRS) and 76 Outs Above Average (OAA) in his eight-year MLB tenure, Bader is one of the best outfielders the game has to offer. Since his debut in 2017, only four active outfielders have accumulated more DRS, and none has more OAA. That’s the kind of player almost any team would want in center field.

“Almost” is the key word in that sentence. Of those four active outfielders with more DRS than Bader over the last eight years, one is Byron Buxton. Buxton also ranks second to Bader in OAA, and on a per-game basis, Buxton far outpaces Bader in both metrics. On top of that, Buxton is the superior hitter, with an .844 OPS and 129 wRC+ over the past six seasons. And, of course, Buxton just so happens to be the starting center fielder (and the longest-tenured player) on the Twins – the same team with whom Bader signed a one-year, $6.25MM contract earlier this month.

When the Twins signed Bader, one might have thought his primary role would be as a backup for the oft-injured Buxton. Bader is rather injury-prone himself, and both players might benefit from splitting time at the demanding defensive position. Yet, it seems as if that won’t be Bader’s only job. On Monday, Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reported that the righty-batting Bader is expected to take over for either Trevor Larnach or Matt Wallner in a corner spot when the Twins are facing a southpaw starter. To that point, manager Rocco Baldelli told Helfand that Bader was more likely to play left field than right, given the outfield dimensions at Target Field.

Earlier today, Dan Hayes of The Athletic provided further details about Bader’s role in Minnesota. Hayes writes that the Twins will have the 30-year-old play left field “regularly,” and he will see “a significant amount of playing time” at the position.

Perhaps the Twins are hoping that Bader’s bat will play up if he has the platoon advantage more often. After all, his career 109 wRC+ against left-handed pitching would look perfectly acceptable in a corner spot. Then again, his offense has dropped off in recent years; his 95 wRC+ against lefties from 2022-24 might be more representative of the kind of hitter the Twins will get in 2025. Thus, the best way for Bader to contribute as a left fielder is to do what he does best: provide top-tier defense. Considering his strong track record in center field, one would think Bader could thrive at an easier defensive position. Indeed, it might take him a bit of time to adjust to the new role (he’s only played 13 MLB games in left) but his elite range and strong arm should play anywhere in the outfield. What’s more, his declining sprint speed – it has dropped in each of the past three years, going from the 97th percentile to the 74th – should be less of a concern in left. All told, left field still isn’t the best place for a player of Bader’s skill set, but if the Twins are concerned about starting Larnach (career 60 wRC+ in 187 PA vs LHP) and Wallner (career 44 wRC+ in 108 PA vs LHP) against lefties, it’s not the worst idea to prioritize defense in left field instead.

With all that said, Bader could still end up playing most of his games in center field. After all, Buxton has not started more than 87 games in center in a single season since 2017. So, there is little doubt the Twins signed Bader to be an insurance policy for Buxton. Yet, it seems as if that wasn’t the only reason, and Bader is going to be more than just a well-compensated backup in Minnesota. When Buxton needs a day off, the Twins will hardly lose a step (defensively) in center. Meanwhile, on days when Buxton and Bader are both patrolling the grass, this team will have one of the best defensive outfields in baseball, regardless of who’s standing in right.

Derek Falvey Discusses Twins’ Payroll, Future Moves, Trade Market

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A very quiet Twins offseason finally started to pick up some steam this week, when the club signed Harrison Bader and Danny Coulombe to one-year guarantees.  Coulombe will earn $3MM, while Bader will earn at least $6.25MM, with a chance to earn more in 2025 based on incentive clauses.  (Bader and the Twins also share a $10MM mutual option for the 2026 season.)

For now, it adds up as a $9.25MM boost to the Twins’ payroll.  President of baseball operations Derek Falvey told reporters (including Bobby Nightengale of the Minneapolis Star Tribune and Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press) that the spending space came about after Twins chairman Joe Pohlad “greenlighted….the ability to add a little bit here to this team.  I think that’s a credit to them and certainly a tick up for us that allows us to add a little bit more to this roster that we feel already had a good base, but now we’ve clicked off some of those needs.”

While $9.25MM is a fairly modest sum by modern baseball standards, it underlines the narrow budget that Falvey and GM Jeremy Zoll are believed to have been working under for much of the winter.  Past reports indicated that the Twins’ 2025 payroll was going to roughly match their approximate $129.6MM payroll (hat tip to RosterResource) from last season, and the club’s lack of activity for much of the offseason was due to the difficulty in trying to both add to the roster while also shedding some unwanted contracts.  Christian Vazquez ($10MM in 2025) and Chris Paddack ($7.5MM) were two of the impending free agents widely viewed as trade candidates as Minnesota tried to balance the books.

It’s safe to assume the front office is still open to offers for either Vazquez or Paddack, though the Twins’ need to deal at least one of the two players doesn’t quite seem as glaring as it did even a few weeks ago.  The trade market in general, Falvey said, has somewhat cooled, which is perhaps why Minnesota turned its attention to free agents like Bader and Couloumbe to address needs.

“I think teams are a little more focused internally now as they’re ready to ship off to Arizona and Florida and try to get things squared away [for Spring Training].  Some of those last remaining free agents, I think that’s been the vast majority of the noise,” Falvey said.

The Twins’ outfield needs could explain why they stretched the budget to bring in Bader, who now fills a key role as the fourth outfielder.  The right-handed hitting Bader can both back up Byron Buxton in center field if Buxton again runs into injury problems, plus Bader can spell the left-handed hitting Matt Wallner or Trevor Larnach (Minnesota’s other projected regular outfielders) when a southpaw is on the mound.  Falvey revealed that the Twins had been targeting Bader for several seasons before finally landing the former Gold Glover this winter.

RosterResource currently projects Minnesota’s 2025 payroll at around $146.4MM.  It seems possible the number could still increase a little further, as Falvey said the team is considering other upgrades, even if minor league deals could end up being the preferred course of action to bring in roster depth.  A veteran first baseman on a non-guaranteed deal is a potential target, as this hypothetical player would bring some experience to a first base mix that currently consists of Jose Miranda and Edouard Julien as the top options.

Twins Sign Harrison Bader

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The Twins officially announced the signing of outfielder Harrison Bader to a one-year deal with a 2026 mutual option. It’s a reported $6.25MM guarantee for the VaynerSports client. That breaks down as a $750K signing bonus, a $4MM base salary, and a $1.5MM buyout on the $10MM option. The buyout price could climb by another $1.5MM based on playing time: $200K at 400, 425 and 450 plate appearances, then by $450K at 475 and 500. There’s also a $500K assignment bonus if Bader is traded.

Bader, 31 in June, is a glove-first guy. From 2018 to 2024, he has been credited with 75 Outs Above Average, the top mark among all outfielders for that span. His tally of 48 Defensive Runs Saved in that stretch is only marginally less impressive, putting him sixth in the majors overall.

His offensive contributions have been less consistent, and more muted of late. From 2018 to 2021, he hit .244/.325/.420 for the Cardinals. That production translated to a 101 wRC+, meaning he was just 1% above average. Since he also stole 38 bases in that time and provided his aforementioned strong defense, he was a very valuable player in that stretch.

But in recent years, his batting has been a notch or two below that. Over the past three seasons, he has bounced from the Cardinals to the Yankees, Reds and Mets, hitting .239/.284/.360 for a wRC+ of 79. The glovework has still be strongly rated in that time and he swiped another 38 bags over those three years, but the diminished offense has naturally tamped his overall contributions.

On the whole, he has still been a useful player, even though the bat has been subpar. FanGraphs credited him with 3.7 wins above replacement over the past three campaigns, with at least 1.0 fWAR in each. Last year, he got into 143 games for the Mets. He hit 12 home runs and stole 17 bases. His batting line of .236/.284/.373 led to a wRC+ of just 85, but he was still worth 1.3 fWAR thanks to his speed and defense.

Bader seems likely to fill the role that Manuel Margot had in 2024. Margot appeared in 129 games for the Twins last year, though he was only in the starting lineup for 70. He spent a bit of time in all three outfield positions, doing some pinch hitting and pinch running. He stepped to the plate 343 times and hit .238/.289/.337 for a wRC+ of 79. He was once a strong glove-first outfielder like Bader, though the defensive metrics have soured on him over the past three years.

The Twins have a strong everyday center fielder in Byron Buxton, though he has struggled to stay on the field in his career. He has never played more than 140 games in a season and only once gone past 102. Last year, he got to that 102 number, which was just the second time in his career playing more than 92 games in a season.

As such, the Twins have seemingly made it a mission to have a strong center-field-capable fourth outfielder on the roster. They acquired Michael A. Taylor for the 2023 season, Margot last winter and are now going with Bader for 2025.

By having Bader on the roster, the club has some cover for if Buxton requires time on the injured list again. They also don’t have a surefire designated hitter, so it’s possible that Buxton serves as the DH with some regularity. Buxton is an excellent defensive center fielder himself, so that would rob him of some of his value, but having Bader take his spot in the field would at least mean there’s no downgrade out there. Going that route on occasion could perhaps allow Buxton stay a bit healthier than in some other years, thus staying with the club for a larger chunk of the season.

With Max Kepler hitting free agency, the Twins project to have Matt Wallner and Trevor Larnach in the corners. Bader can spell those two on defense occasionally and also perhaps platoon with them, as he hits from the right side while Wallner and Larnach are lefties with notable career splits. Bader had reverse splits in 2024 but has hit .249/.314/.461 against lefties in his career for a 109 wRC+. That’s compared to a .239/.303/.367 line and 84 wRC+ against righties.

The Twins also have Willi Castro and Austin Martin as guys who could figure into the outfield mix, but they are also capable of playing the infield. Like with Buxton in the outfield, there are some health concerns on the dirt, as Carlos Correa, Royce Lewis and José Miranda have had notable injury concerns over the years.

It’s been a pretty quiet offseason for the Twins overall, with the front office apparently working under some notable constraints. The 2024 payroll dropped by about $30MM compared to the previous year, which was apparently due to the ongoing uncertainty with their broadcast deal with Diamond Sports Group. This year, the Twins are having MLB handle their broadcasts, which is likely to bring in less revenue than their previous arrangement. On top of that, the club is currently for sale. It’s possible that the current owners prefer to keep the long-term books fairly clean, leaving the future spending decisions to the new ownership group.

Going into this week, the Twins hadn’t made a significant trade nor agreed to sign a free agent to a major league deal. They have ramped up their activity, relatively speaking, by giving one-year deals to Coulombe and Bader this week. Bader’s deal does have a mutual option, but those are almost never picked up by both sides. They are essentially just an accounting measure to kick some of the spending to the end of the season.

For much of the offseason, it seemed as though the club might have to clear some payroll to make moves, perhaps by trading someone like Christian Vázquez or Chris Paddack. It remains to be seen whether that is still the case or if they found enough coins in the couch cushions to simply make these additions without subtractions.

There are still some viable infielders and starting pitchers in free agency, but the outfield market has been more picked over. As of a couple of weeks ago, Jurickson Profar was last outfielder still unsigned who profiled as a clear everyday player. He signed a three-year pact with Atlanta, leaving mostly part-time, role-playing types on the market.

Since then, a number of those players have signed fairly similar one-year deals. Austin Hays got $5MM from the Reds, Ramón Laureano got $4MM from the Orioles and Randal Grichuk got $5MM from the Diamondbacks. Those guys can all play center in a pinch but Bader is clearly above them defensively, which has perhaps allowed him to come out ahead. For clubs still looking for outfield help, Mark Canha, Alex Verdugo, Jason Heyward and David Peralta are some of the guys still out there.

Jon Heyman of The New York Post first reported that the Twins were signing Bader to a one-year deal with a mutual option. Ken Rosenthal and Dan Hayes of The Athletic reported the $6.25MM guarantee. Bobby Nightengale of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune had the specific salary breakdown. Heyman had the specifics on the buyout escalators and the assignment bonus.

Twins Designate Ronny Henriquez For Assignment

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The Twins announced that right-hander Ronny Henriquez has been designated for assignment. That opens a roster spot for the signings of outfielder Harrison Bader and left-hander Danny Coulombe, which are now official. The club opened another roster spot yesterday by trading utility player Michael Helman to the Cardinals.

Henriquez, 25 in June, has spent most of the past three years on the club’s roster. He came up as a Rangers prospect, getting added to that club’s 40-man roster in November of 2021, keeping him out of that year’s Rule 5 draft. Texas traded him to the Twins a few months later alongside infielder Isiah Kiner-Falefa in the March 2022 deal to acquire catcher Mitch Garver. Henriquez spent 2022 and 2023 as a depth arm but was non-tendered after the latter of those two seasons. He re-signed on a minor league deal going into 2024 and was back on the 40-man in late April.

Over those three years, he didn’t get much major league action. He has 31 innings pitched at this point with a 2.90 earned run average in that small sample. His 18.2% strikeout rate is subpar but his 6.1% walk rate and 53.1% ground ball rate are both strong.

His numbers in the minors have been somewhat similar. A starter earlier in his career, the Twins have mostly kept him in a multi-inning relief role for the past two seasons. In 2024, he logged 55 innings over 34 Triple-A appearances with a 3.44 ERA, 24.9% strikeout rate, 7.2% walk rate and 53.8% ground ball rate.

Despite the decent results, Henriquez was likely running out of time on the roster. He exhausted his final option year in 2024, meaning the Twins would no longer be able to move him to Triple-A and back with such fluidity. As such, he got bumped off the roster today. Minnesota will now have a week of DFA limbo to figure out what’s next, whether that’s a trade or some fate on waivers. The waiver process takes 48 hours, so any trade talks would have to take place in the next five days.

Though the Twins couldn’t find room for him, it’s possible another club is willing to grab him. As recently as June, Eric Longenhagen and Travis Ice of FanGraphs ranked Henriquez as the #27 prospect in the Twins’ system, suggesting he had a future as a decent middle reliever. If some club is willing to give him a roster spot now, he has less than a year of service time, meaning he comes with a possible six seasons of club control.

Mets Notes: Bader, Megill, Gilbert, Williams

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Harrison Bader has been out of the starting lineup for three of the Mets’ last five contests. He was penciled back into center field today before their game against the Cardinals was postponed.

On Tuesday, Bader expressed some frustration with his somewhat sporadic playing time in a chat with Mike Puma of the New York Post. “I don’t handle it well, I can tell you that,” the outfielder said about a reduced role. “But I certainly don’t let it affect the way I prepare, the way I keep focused when I do get an opportunity to go in there and play, even if it’s later in the game. If anything, it lights more of a fire under my ass. I’m bothered by it for sure. But I respect what they view as giving us an opportunity to win. And at the same time whether my name is in there or not I prepare to play every single day of the season.”

Bader stopped short of outwardly criticizing the coaching staff. However, he acknowledged that playing less “has been a challenge, not what (he) expected” when he signed a one-year, $10.5MM free agent deal. “I want to win, but I want to play,” he added. “We all want to play, but it’s hard. We have got a lot of guys and I respect the position that everyone is in. … I don’t know who makes the lineup, but whatever we have got going on I respect that position.”

The Gold Glove outfielder has started 26 of New York’s 36 games on the season. Manager Carlos Mendoza has turned to more of an outfield rotation recently. That’s largely a credit to DJ Stewart and Tyrone Taylor, both of whom are hitting well. Stewart, who has been limited to facing right-handed pitching, has made up for a lowly .185 average by drawing 17 walks and hitting four homers over 85 plate appearances. Taylor has a more conventional .288/.312/.425 batting line in 78 trips.

Stewart worked as the designated hitter for the season’s first couple weeks. J.D. Martinez has stepped into that role. The Mets have Starling Marte locked in as the primary right fielder. If Mendoza wants to get either Stewart or Taylor into the lineup, that generally necessitates pushing Brandon Nimmo to center and sitting Bader.

Bader is hitting .280/.314/.340 with one homer through 105 plate appearances. That has made him the least productive of the Mets’ outfielders offensively, at least by measure of wRC+, yet it’s solid work overall. Considering that Bader is also the team’s best defensive outfielder, he certainly hasn’t played his way out of the lineup. As Mendoza pointed out to Puma, it’s more so that Stewart and Taylor have so far outperformed their anticipated roles.

That all falls under the category of good problem to have, as the solid contributions from five outfielders gives the Mets cover if anyone struggles or suffers an injury. Aside from Nimmo, there were questions about everyone in that group heading into the season. Marte and Bader had career-worst offensive showings in 2023. Stewart is a 30-year-old who has never played more than 100 games in an MLB season. Taylor has primarily been a depth outfielder whom the Brewers flipped to New York for a minimal return over the winter.

The Mets also brought in Adrian Houser in that deal, though his tenure in Queens has gotten off to a much rockier start. Houser was at least temporarily pushed to the bullpen after struggling to an 8.16 ERA over his first six starts. The Mets called up top prospect Christian Scott last week to join Luis Severino, Jose Quintana, José Buttó and Sean Manaea in the rotation. Mendoza indicated they could go to a six-man rotation with a challenging section of the schedule coming up, but they’re also not far from having to make another decision with the pitching staff.

Tylor Megill has been on the injured list since departing his first start with a shoulder strain. The right-hander has made a trio of rehab outings, including four hitless innings with seven strikeouts at Triple-A Syracuse on Tuesday. Mendoza said Megill will make another start for Syracuse on Sunday before the team reinstates him (X link via Puma). It remains to be seen if he’ll reclaim a spot on the MLB staff. Megill still has a pair of minor league options, so the Mets could keep him in Triple-A even when he’s fully healthy.

In other injury news, prospects Jett Williams and Drew Gilbert are seeking a return to game action by the end of the month or early in June, according to MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo. Williams has been delayed by a right wrist injury, while Gilbert suffered a right hamstring strain. Williams, the 14th overall pick in the 2022 draft, started the season at Double-A Binghamton. Gilbert, acquired in last summer’s Justin Verlander trade, opened the year in Syracuse after a huge finish in Double-A last season.

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