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. Bader is guaranteed $6.25MM and can earn another $2MM via bonuses, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, relayed by his colleague Dan Hayes. The Twins have a full 40-man roster and will need to open spots for both Hader and Danny Coulombe, who agreed to a deal earlier this week.
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.
More to come.
Will this guy ever reach his true potential? Or is he another Colby Rasmus?
I think he has. I think you just overestimated what you expected of him. Great outfielder with a bat that occasionally gets hit.
“reach his true potential”..He’s a Gold Glove, “platinum” level centerfield defender. That’s his true “potential” and he reached it at least a few years ago.
Not every outfielder will grow up to be Mickey Mantle, Mike Trout or Ken Griffey Jr. Now is the time for Harrison Bader to maintain his level of play, capitalize on it and put a few million bucks in the bank. I wish him well.
I was thinking Bader’s true potential is more like Mike Cameron or Lorenzon Cain.
Bader doesn’t have their power nor baserunning prowness. His speed is there though.
Mike Cameron or Lorenzo Cain? Maybe a better Daz Cameron.
No
He’s 30. This is it. He’s past his peak already.
The life of a multi millionaire, Major League vagabond.
Twins signing.
“Twins signing”..Adding a great defender in CF(or anywhere else, really)makes your current pitchers better. It’s not the sexiest move, but one you’ll be glad you made later(imho).
A precursor to a deal with the Padres perhaps…
More like their new Michael Taylor; a player signed to backup Byron Buxton that will probably end up playing more games than Buxton
As a twins fan, yes.
The Twin Cities Of Minneapolis…. Don’t forget what about all those beautiful women of MN!?
Let me say hi to Phil Protoplasm.
That signing feels right for the Twins. I like it.
It’s solid. Bader’s bat has deteriorated but his defense is still top notch.
Not bad insurance should health issues emerge again for Buxton. But would like to see them make an impact move otherwise their roster is not likely enough to compete against Indians, Royals, and Tigers.
Except they were the favorite in the division even BEFORE this “non-impact” move, sheesh.
favorite for what?
Every projection system, every sports book, every thoughtful appraisal of the AL Central has the Minnesota Twins the favorite to win the division. Listen, this isn’t easy for a Cleveland fan to acknowledge, but the Twins are clearly the most talented team in the division, top to bottom. There’s a reason the most recent projection of Pecota (today!) has the Twins with an 87-75 record and a 55% chance of winning the division with KC, CLE, and DET being 17%, 17% and 11% respectively. Now, you can be emotional about this, and think you know better than the collective judgment of objective systems, but it doesn’t alter the facts of the situation.
Detroit wins the division and adds Flaherty to go along with Tarik. What have the Twins done? Just looked at Twins roster. Someone give me a rational explanation for how this team as currently constructed is the favorite.
Better rotation depth, better bullpen, Fangraphs puts the starting 9 projected WAR at 20.1 DET vs 21.8 MN, with MN having a better bench.
MN lost the division last year when they completely collapsed in the final 5-6 weeks. But they were a very good team before that and most of those players are back, with few being old enough to be expecting a lot of decline and many young enough to hope for improvement.
Twinning!
I’d rather have right handed Bader at half the cost then Kepler and his injury prone 10m dollar left handed bat
Desperate times for most players coming before spring training. who’s next
Kinda weird having 2 elite centerfielders when most teams don’t have one.
Maybe 1-1/2 if you consider that Buxton is usually hurt half the time.
Finding CF who can defend isn’t difficult…finding one who can play league average defense AND hit at a league average level, that’s the hard part. That’s why Buxton is such a key to the Twins’ success…he’s a separator.
Does he still do that obnoxious stuff with the mouthpiece?
Of course I had him to the Twins last year in the FA predictions contest
Congrats
Is he a backup or does this bump Buxton to a corner spot?
Maybe a cease trade is imminent
Sign an OF to replace one you’re trading in a cease deal.
Forever a Red
Bader in center & Buxton at DH might give them about the equivalent value of what a fully healthy Buxton alone could’ve. Wish we could’ve seen it.
“They signed Michael A. Taylor for the 2023 season”
Taylor came over in a swap with the Royals.
Next article:
Grichuk signs with AZ
Don’t mind this, but I’d rather have seen the Twins ink a first baseman.
Hope Bader can be something of a 2023 Michael A. Taylor this coming season for MIN.
If you are relying on this guy for more than bench/defense you don’t have a really competitive team. Fine for bench/late inning replacement. Three straight years with OBP under .300, Maybe he finds himself….but…a little Jason Hayward here
Not a fan of this move for the Twins. I understand Buxton and Bader both get hurt a lot but what happens when both are healthy?
“When both are healthy”…I’m guessing that with the extensive injury histories of both Bader & Buxton, that that will not be a problem.
On the rare occasions that both are healthy and playable, I’d suggest buying a lottery ticket and maybe avoiding all airplanes.
You don’t plan on a guy being hurt, especially someone you are paying a lot of money to. I just don’t like the signing. Twins only have so much money not how i think they should spend it.
That’s a smart move for the low-budget Twins…great to see teams securing valuable depth to improve. I am still waiting for the Pirates to add some positional player depth. It wouldn’t take much for the Pirates to have a chance in the NL Central.
Seems like the Twins and Mariners are having similar offseasons……
This is like the Guardians signing Sewald. It’s not that I think he won’t earn his money or that it isn’t a good gamble. But the team has other needs and only so much money. Why spend it like this?
As a Cardinals fan I thought Bader made sense for them. Siani isn’t much of a starter but he could play if Bader got hurt. And Scott would probably be ready mid season so Bader could be traded then. I don’t think he’s a good fit for the Twins. Doesn’t Castro play center?
Castro is likely to be traded (unfortunately) and is most valuable as a utility guy that can bounce around.between infield and outfield.
Buxton is a premium defender in center, but played 100 games for the first time since 2017. The team is significantly worse when his glove is not out there. Having someone that can replicate that production is key.
The only other glaring need I see is a first baseman with a good glove.
Castro made sense for the Twins because if Buxton is healthy Castro can play elsewhere. Bader makes no sense because if Buxton is healthy where is Bader playing?
Why trade Castro and sign Bader?
Guys like Bader are increasingly rare- no long term contracts, never a BIG salary, but consistent mid-7-figure deals, bouncing around from team to team for a year here, 2 or 3 years there, etc, will likely play another 4-8 years, wind up with around $75M in total salaries for around 14 seasons and that’s their career. Will probably continue collecting 1 year salaries in the $4M to $10M range for another 5-7 seasons, etc.
Guys like Harrison Bader exemplify the aspect of the game that reminds us that no team is just an All-Star line up, that there are under the radar, middling role players that are still necessary and valuable.
His 15 minutes are over
I mean we’re talking about the do -nothing in the offseason Twins here. And this is at least………something. So relatively speaking I like the move, and I’m looking forward to seeing what this guy can do. Pretty sure he’ll be an upgrade from Margot.
love mister bader
It’s now just sunk in. With what little research I’ve done, and what I already knew, I feel like it’s a good move. Not Great, but solid. Coulombe is aight too!