TODAY: Speaking with Erik Boland and other reporters today, Boone suggested that Bader will need around six weeks of recovery time, so the outfielder will likely miss the first three weeks of the season.
MARCH 10: Yankees center fielder Harrison Bader has been diagnosed with a strained left oblique, manager Aaron Boone tells Newsday’s Erik Boland (Twitter link). There’s no timetable for his return just yet, but Bader is likely to begin the season on the injured list.
It’s yet another injury blow to a Yankees club that has been beset by health troubles this spring. The Yankees announced just yesterday that all three of Carlos Rodon, Lou Trivino and Tommy Kahnle will open the season on the injured list. Right-hander Frankie Montas, meanwhile, underwent shoulder surgery earlier in camp and is expected to miss the majority of the 2023 season.
Bader’s injury leaves the Yankees without a true center fielder, though both Aaron Hicks and Aaron Judge have ample experience at the position. Judge was the preferred option in center last year prior to Bader’s acquisition and activation from the injured list.
The injury will also likely lead to more outfield time for Giancarlo Stanton, which has already been under discussion. Utilityman Oswaldo Cabrera, who’d been vying for playing time in left field, figures to see an uptick of action in the corners as well. Further down the depth chart, Bader’s absence could lead to increased looks for former top prospect Estevan Florial or perhaps for non-roster invitees Rafael Ortega and/or Willie Calhoun. Ortega, in particular, is a capable center fielder.
It’s a tough start to the year for Bader, who hoped for a healthier 2023 season after a lengthy bout with plantar fasciitis limited him to just 86 games in 2022. The Yankees acquired Bader even while he was on the injured list — sending lefty Jordan Montgomery to the Cardinals — with an eye toward the postseason and toward 2023. Bader struggled through 49 plate appearances down the stretch after being activated in September, but he caught fire during the postseason, batting .333/.429/.833 with five home runs in just 35 plate appearances.
At his best, the 28-year-old Bader is a flat-out elite defender in center field with above-average pop. His offensive profile has changed over the years, as his high-walk and high-strikeout tendencies have given way to more balls in play but fewer walks and, in 2022, less power.
Overall, Bader is a career .245/.317/.405 hitter (97 wRC+), and while injuries have routinely been a problem — in part due to the reckless abandon with which he plays defense — he has clear 20-homer upside if he can remain healthy. Bader’s defensive ratings slipped in 2022, which is perhaps not surprising for a center fielder dealing with a foot injury, but through 3579 career innings in center field, he’s posted 38 Defensive Runs Saved and an even more massive 50 Outs Above Average.
The injury is also unfortunate for Bader on a personal level, as he was surely hoping to play a full slate of games in what will be his final season before reaching the open market as a first-time free agent. A mostly healthy season from Bader could still position him as the top center fielder in what’ll be a thin market at the position next winter. Other center fielders up for free agency include Cody Bellinger, Michael A. Taylor and Enrique Hernandez.
LordD99
Seems unusual to not have an associated grade level with the strain.
DarkSide830
perhaps it’s a post-secondary sprain
deweybelongsinthehall
He’s always hurt. His playoff run last year was great but he’s less reliable than Kevin Kiermeier or so it seems.
Fever Pitch Guy
dewey – On the Greatest All-Injured Team, who gets CF? Bader or Ellsbury?
Is Fragile Freddy Lynn in the conversation?
BuyBuyMets
Buxton and Grady Sizemore also need consideration for All-Injured CFer.
ctbronx7
Quick question: who will play more games in 2023, Bader or Buxton?
Clepto_
It was just a pass/fail strain.
Ignorant Son-of-a-b
It was a C …but since he’s a Yankee, and they’re graded on a curve, it’s now a B+
wesleyisme
But he still would like an extension
Jon M
Of his leg?
Bart Harley Jarvis
Suddenly lots of free time to work out the details.
cardsfan94
Good luck Yankee fans, you’ll get used to it
Joe says...
It just means he fits right in with most of the rest of the team.
thegreatgoodbye
More and more excuses for Cashman on why the Yankees don’t win the World Series.
top jimmy
Hal, bite the bullet and sign Profar. It’s not going to cost any draft capital, just some luxury tax dollars that this team can easily afford. This is just the start of the injuries for this team. You’re going to have to go over the next threshold by the trade deadline anyhow.
Bright Side
You’re kidding, right. Assuming you’re not, I don’t have the exact numbers, but I’m sure that threshold will cost the Yankees in the neighborhood of $60mil. Is Profar alone worth $60mil for one season? As for deadline deals, Cashman’s trade history leaves much to be desired. The Yankees need good to great hitting. That’s not available. Even before the recent rash of injuries, their off-season was a failure. If there is any hope for this team, it lies in house with Jasson, Volpe, and Paraza. Perhaps Wells. That said, the Yankees are loathe to call up rookies to replace awful veterans that don’t help them win the AL Pennant. Either it’s silly stuff like service time backed up by the excuse to coddle their rookie position players. After IKF butchered SS against Cleveland. They called up Peraza only to bench him against the Astros. When asked to explain why, Boone said he wanted Peraza to absorb the playoff atmosphere or something to that effect. Cashman is awful at trades and extensions. Judge was the right move, but Cash allowed the situation to fester. Boone is a moron. Both recently git extended. Both are still here. That’s why I’m convinced the Yankees won’t ever win a WS so long that Hal owns the team.
Ncsaint
No, you are only taxed at the higher rate for dollars above wach threshold. When you go over a threshold that has an attached penalty (draft picks, whatever) by $0.01, it matters. Going over this one by a bit does not matter.
deweybelongsinthehall
Profar is not any better than Cabrera and others on the farm. He’s just not that good.
DogDays2
Why does a team need great hitting if they have strong pitching?
I’m not condoning all of Cashman’s moves, but he literally did nothing wrong with the Judge situation unless you want to question signing him at all, which would be a valid argument.
It’s not always Cashman’s fault when these guys don’t play to their potential, or even what they have done previously.
top jimmy
You just completely made up that $60M number. The next tier tax would only be imposed on the 2023 AAV for whatever he signs for. The 2023 salary and tax hit would be nowhere close to $60M. Try again with your made up numbers.
dankyank
Cashman doesn’t control the purse, Hal does.
In Seager/Hader We Trust > the 70 MM DH Ohtani
As a fan, I would care a lot more about the lost draft picks/lower draft picks than I would about the penalty. Don’t you?
Ncsaint
@deGrom But there is no penalty left. The new highest “Cohen tax” level is *just* an increased rax rate.
I care way more about the draft picks etc, that’s why I don’t care about passing this level.
(That’s also why they obviously don’t care either. They feel they have spent enough and don’t want to spend more, which fair enough. But the top tax bracket is not a real thing, it just sounds better to the fans to say the CBA made us stop spending.)
In Seager/Hader We Trust > the 70 MM DH Ohtani
Look at what happened to the Red Sox and Mets, though, for exceeding this level. Their picks were dropped.
deweybelongsinthehall
The Sox dropped because of the first level they exceeded last year. I’m no tax guru but apparently for crossing the 4th level, the only penalty is financial at 90% for the little amount above it.
Ncsaint
@degrom, this level is new, the Yanks would be the second team to pass it after the Mets. Never affected Sox, and this level is unlike others in that it has no penalties attached.
foppert
Or the $293 number is an ownership “understanding”. Hence the Mets being mentioned on multiple occasions by frustrated owners.
top jimmy
The Yanks have already forfeited all the picks they can lose under the luxury tax rules. Further spending will NOT cost them any more draft picks. Any more salary they take on will only cost them more luxury tax dollars- which they can easily afford. Hal is just being a tightwad.
MoneyBallJustWorks
Cabrera now with an everyday job is a good thing. Will show enough with Bader out and then Hicks will be done
dankyank
The problem isn’t Hicks’ production so much as his salary when Hal refuses to go into luxury tax territory.
JoeBrady
when Hal refuses to go into luxury tax territory.
===============================
What? Hal is already way, way into the luxury tax.
Mikenmn
Grumble grumble grumble.
AmericanRedneck
╭━┳━╭━╭━╮╮
┃┈┈┈┣▅╋▅┫┃
┃┈┃┈╰━╰━━━━━━╮
╰┳╯┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈◢▉◣
╲┃┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈▉▉▉
╲┃┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈◥▉◤
╲┃┈┈┈┈╭━┳━━━━╯
╲┣━━━━━━┫
avenger65
Did you do that on an Etch-A-Sketch?
Unclemike1525
Yankees should just go sign Almora. His bat never attained the level I expected from him but a great glove and smart ballplayer. 3 position Of- Poor mans Jason Heyward.
EasternLeagueVeteran
Poor Man’s Jake Marisnick.
dasit
dear yankees
health is a skill. please stop signing and trading for players who do not possess this skill
thank you
Silas
DAY JAH VOO
pinstripes17
He’s officially a Yankee
Cleon Jones
So the next injury report headline:
“Timmy Thompson felled by excessive intestinal gas/ flatulence, will open the season on IL, excluded from locker room. No firm date on his return. Related roster moves ripple through MLB. More to come.”
RonDarlingShouldntBeInTheHallOfFame
Oblique injuries seem all the rage this year..
dankyank
I think Cashman has effectively been bracketed. Between Hal’s refusal to pay luxury tax and the fanbase’s incessant demands for big name acquisitions, it leaves very little room to graduate minor leaguers and cultivate depth. Hence the Rodon signing, which deprived them of the space to acquire needed outfield depth.
The Yankees could step back for a 2, 3 retool period and the playoff success would not be appreciably different
JoeBrady
Between Hal’s refusal to pay luxury tax
==============================
Hal is already way, way into the luxury tax.
dankyank
I misspoke. Hal’s refusal to spend into the next tier.
Fraham_
Nice going cashman! Every acquisition since the deadline injured (Bader, Montas, Trivino, Effross, Rodon, Kahnle). Cashman has genuinely been the worst GM in baseball the past year and a half it’s actually crazy how bad just about all his moves except Holmes and Rizzo have turned out.
CravenMoorehead
Yankees already in mid-season form!
CravenMoorehead
Giancarlo Stanton waiting on deck for his IL stint
BenBenBen
“Yankees center fielder has been diagnosed with a strained left oblique, manager Aaron Boone tells Newsday’s Erik Boland (Twitter link).”
Uh, you’re missing something big in that sentence. Also, you can start a sentence with the word meanwhile, it is allowed. Don’t be scared.
Melchez17
Who plays more games… Bader or Hicks?
Yankee Clipper
Our hope is Bader, so it’ll definitely be Hicks.
Dr2022
Of course Hicks will remain healthy for the year, hit eight home runs again, drive-in 30 and hit at the Mendoza line, and Cashman will call it a successful season for him.
Manfred’s playing with the balls
Gambled on injured players at the deadline and it didn’t pay off. It sucks to see as a prospect fan, because they had a ton of talented pitching depth. I honestly think CF will be fine until he gets back. I would put Florial or Oswaldo in CF depending on the matchup.
aTouchOfSarcasm
If I woke up tomorrow with my head sewn to the carpet, I wouldn’t be more surprised than I am now.
acoss13
Three pitching injuries of varying levels and now Bader with an oblique injury, which is difficult to know how long he will be out. Yankees depth is going to be tested a lot early in the season good luck!
JoelP
Don’t know if anyone has looked at their schedule but April looks to be their toughest month as well. With the injury bug hitting that clubhouse, they may being playing catch-up all year.
User 1580013680
It’s going to be a long year for the Yankee fans
DogDays2
Long year= playoffs .
lolo69
IKF is a bum. He’s a HUGE hole at SS and I’m the line up.
MPrck
Hick’s 2 point 0 ? Perhaps a return to steroids for injured players ? Well at least they did not extend him yet. As long as Judge is okay, no problems there.
In Seager/Hader We Trust > the 70 MM DH Ohtani
Yet…
Endar Malkovich
I’m waiting for Hal to reward Cashman with part ownership from all of these fantastic moves.
Dr2022
It’s coming, it’s coming!
Rsox
Diedrich Bader might be a more reliable long-term CF option for the Yankees than Harrison…
mack423
Fantastic comment lol
Frankie Bani
Yankees the same 2022 team !!!,,,same result.
Hicks down, Donaldson down, IKF down, Hickichioa down, Stanton down, Bader down, Rizzo down, Florial good bye.
Four4fore
Bader plays hard, gets hurt, always has get used to it or move on.
mrmackey
Looks like Balita will make the opening day roster. I think he could do surprisingly well, especially in NYS.
LostYankeeinexile
Ok there’s a lot of arguments on this thread but what I’m not seeing with the Cashman argument is
$6million to IKF For what?
Also Who the hell is reviewing the Medicals for this team??
Montas traded for was injured
Bader Traded for and injured (FOR Monty)
Effross, Rodon injured
Chapman and the tatto crap? And that’s just a few from last year and offseason….
Then there’s just the Yankee BS of service time manipulation
Perez’s, Volpe etc
You wanna stay under the luxury tax … fine … DFA the vets that aren’t performing, eat the contracts for the year cause no one is biting on trades, pay the luxury tax and admit you were wrong about them, reset the tax after next season and let the hungry kids play. Use the money to get a better scouting department and build from within. Then use your large market cash to buy a vet or two that’s proven AFTER your core is established circa Yankees 1996. Not like they don’t have the blueprint!
This risk assessment crap is ruing the game.
LostYankeeinexile
Clarification: Risk assessment as in … “Oh Oh we have a problem at shortstop but let’s sign a guy that won a gold glove at 3rd but can’t play short , refuse to offer him help at theSS position even when he asks for it, resign him for $6 mil which is completely unreasonable given the performance, all just because they’re scared of what?? A prospect getting spooked by the big lights of NYC? If they’re that fragile they got no business on the Majors to begin with (looking at you Clint Frazier) They either rise to the occasion or they flunk out … that’s any job, school, or self employment. Suck it up.
In Seager/Hader We Trust > the 70 MM DH Ohtani
So, his extention will only be 7 years 150 million instead of 7 250 million? Poor player!
Rishi
Translation: “I have no money so I am bitter towards those that do.”
Rishi
Why are they gonna extend him after a bad year going into a year where he’s starting the season injured? He honestly isn’t that good. He has potential but he’s never even had 400ab. He is a career 245/ 317 avg/obp with just over a 400 slugging. We are talking replacement level production with a lack of health. I get he could be happy to be in NY but most players like it fine in STL so I don’t see why his production would be expected to increase much because of the change.
Gomez Toth
Jacoby Ellsbury on line one…
Red Sox Restoration Project
It sounds like the Yankees are down but they always find a way to stay relevant. Always. They’ll still win close to 90 games, if not more.
Rishi
Listening to Yankees fans complain about lack of spending is ridiculous. Go complain to a Tampa Bay fan. Growing up a Braves fan I never complained (despite the fact that they probably should’ve had a higher payroll) because you are making the playoffs. So you haven’t won a world series in the last day or two….tis the life of a fan. I never even saw ATL win a playoff series for two decades so when there’s a drought cry me a river. Even then I was spoiled. Ask Seattle.
YankeesBleacherCreature
They’re mostly Yankees haters and RS fans in here.
Yankee Clipper
For true Yankees fans, like me, it’s not an issue of spending enough. Rather, it’s an issue of not spending correctly. But, honestly, roster construction isn’t even the biggest challenge to Cashman & the Yankees. It’s the cumulative effect of all the decisions (trades, hires, retention, and acquisitions).
I’ll give you three examples of why the Yankees continue to fail in their quest for #28:
1) Decisions in management. Yankees need a leader and Aaron Boone, although well-liked, is a buddy, not a leader. Why Cashman passed in Rob Thompson, etc, etc, for Boone is confounding;
2) Decisions to forego positions of need for prospects, yet not trading those prospects for talent while also playing mediocre vets over those same prospects – see 2022 Yankees; and
3) Cashman’s notable poor trades (Donaldson/IKF, Montas/Trivino, Stanton, etc) while allocating key financial resources to those same players in lieu of acquiring a much better player for the same amount.
Yankees are a quality organization and they’re my favorite sports team. But, their commitment to certain people impedes their ability to be champions. For one example consider that Aaron Boone is the only MLB manager to ever receive a multi-year extension after not appearing in the World Series in one of his first four seasons (credit to the Pirates announcers who cited that trivia).
whyhayzee
Gene Michael and Joe Torre did really well and stayed around for quite some time. They did not have a great track record before that, though Michael did not have much of a track record yet. I think continuity is worth something but needs to be examined here. It feels like the Cash Man is bulletproof.
I don’t remember the hype before players like Jeter, Posada, Mariano, Pettitte, Bernie were being called up. Nowadays, you read about what Volpe had for breakfast. Leave these guys alone and let them play their way onto the team. It’s organizational insecurity that these guys need so much attention.
Back in their championship run, they gleefully added players of dubious character, as PED cheaters were rewarded in spades for their tainted performance. These players were arguably already good but couldn’t resist the temptation of using drugs to help them maintain performance. Yes, they won, but it was questionable at best.
I think it’s gotten harder to identify successful players since the eradication of most PED use. Also, injuries are just becoming an epidemic in baseball. The demands on the body of the “modern game” with the race to 100 MPH pitches and ridiculous reaction time requirements has basically trashed the game.
tbone0816
Shocker
smoked_gouda
There’s always next year….
smoked_gouda
Bader, Rodon, Montas, Cortes, Kahnle… organizational failure as a training staff… every year.
The Saber-toothed Superfife
Willie Calhoun sure seems to be happy to be a Yankee.