Former New York Yankees outfielder Harrison Bader seems to be in a rather decent spot hitting the free agency market.
Bader enjoyed some success with the Philadelphia Phillies in the second half of last season after landing with them in a deal with the Minnesota Twins at the deadline.
The hope and expectation around Philadelphia was that Bader would really put things together for the team offensively, and while his offensive numbers have never been much, he was a bit better with the Phillies than he’s been with many other teams throughout his career.
With other decisions around Major League Baseball, it sounds like those will also help Bader in some sense.
According to the latest report from Mark Feinsand of MLB.com, Trent Grisham’s decision to accept his qualifying offer takes the top center fielder option off the board and should help players like Bader and Cedric Mullins. Mullins was most recently with the New York Mets after spending time with the Yankees’ AL East rival, the Baltimore Orioles.
“Grisham’s decision to accept the QO also takes the top center-field option (or No. 2, if you’re counting Cody Bellinger as a center fielder) off the market, which should benefit free agents such as Harrison Bader and Cedric Mullins,” he wrote.
Will Bader land a multi-year deal?
It wouldn’t be too surprising to see Bader get a multi-year deal at this point, but it remains uncertain if that will be in Philadelphia.
The Phillies have a need for an outfielder, but there’s also an argument to be made that someone has to be a bit better than Bader for them moving forward.
Regardless, he should find some love elsewhere and get a new deal.
