The Twins are going to sign outfielder Harrison Bader, reports Jon Heyman of The New York Post. It’s a one-year deal for the VaynerSports client, with a mutual option for 2026. The financial components of the agreement have not yet been publicly reported.
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.
More to come.
