New Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns already added two players he was familiar with this winter. Now, he’s reportedly added a former Cardinal that he saw plenty of in Harrison Bader. The Mets have reportedly added Harrison Bader to their roster on a one-year deal worth $10.5MM. Here’s a closer look at Bader.
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A Look at Bader
Nine years ago, Harrison Bader starred at the University of Florida alongside Pete Alonso. Now, the two are set to be teammates with the Mets.
It’s been an interesting three seasons for the new Met. Back in 2021, Bader had arguably his best year at the dish, when he hit .267/.324/.460 with a career-high 16 home runs and 38 extra-base hits over 103 games.
But in 2022, Bader was limited to 86 regular season games. The last 14 were spent with the Yankees after he was traded in August of that year for Jordan Montgomery.
Bader made an immediate splash in The Bronx, as he hit five home runs over nine postseason games in October 2022. However, hamstring, oblique, and groin issues dogged Bader throughout 2023. Bader played only 98 games last season, the last 14 of which were spent as a Red after the Yankees put him on waivers.
Injuries have been a problem throughout Bader’s career. The 29-year-old’s career-high in games played is 138, which was back in 2018.
Bader is a very toolsy player. He’s got plus speed that he hasn’t leveraged too much for stolen bases to this point, although he did accrue a career-high of 20 this past year. He does have a good hit tool, can catch up to the fastball, and doesn’t whiff often. However, he will chase from time to time and doesn’t work counts too much.
The new Met walked just 4.9% of the time last year and 4.8% in 2022.
While there is some power in Bader’s profile, the 29-year-old projects as a bottom-of-the-order hitter who can hit and use his speed to get into scoring position for the top of the order.
Defensively, there aren’t many center fielders who are as good as Bader. The 29-year-old ranked high in both OAA (+9) and arm strength this past season per Statcast, as well as sprint speed.
Analysis
The addition of Bader means that the New York kid will once again get a chance to play in the Big Apple, although he’ll be just a couple of miles south of where he started in 2023.
Bader’s injury history was going to make it tough for the 29-year-old to get a multi-year deal this winter. However, the Mets are an interesting landing spot for him, aside from his ties to the Tri-State Area.
The Mets simply needed the outfield help. Entering the offseason, New York only had two regular outfielders on their roster, Brandon Nimmo and Starling Marte, and DJ Stewart. Nimmo’s been healthy in each of the last two years. Marte, though, missed much of last season and his health has to remain a concern. Marte has seen some time in the Dominican Winter League recently, a positive sign entering the spring.
Jeff McNeil could have been a corner outfielder in 2024. But, the likely season-ending injury to Ronny Mauricio means he’ll likely be moving back to second for this upcoming season.
With the additions of Bader and ex-Brewer Tyrone Taylor, the Mets have brought in much-needed depth. The two new Mets outfielders are both accomplished defensive players and it does mean options for New York. Rather than having Nimmo in center regularly, the Mets can utilize Bader’s speed out there and move Nimmo to left field.