David Stearns and the New York Mets made it clear that the organization wanted to add another outfielder to their pool of players this offseason. The team had been linked to Michael A. Taylor for a large period of time, but the Mets have opted to go in a different direction. Andy Martino of SNY has reported that former New York Yankee Harrison Bader has agreed to a one-year, $10.5 million deal with the Mets.
Bader, a player who has always been known as a plus defender, is a career .243 hitter with a .706 OPS across seven big league seasons. The last two seasons have been quite difficult for the 29-year-old, as he has missed 140 games due to injury. He had 310 plate appearances for the Yankees last season, slashing .240/.278/.365 with seven home runs and 37 runs batted in. At the end of August, the team designated him for assignment. Just days later, Bader was picked up off waivers by the Cincinnati Reds, for whom he would play 14 games to end the year.
Bader was still fantastic defensively in 2023, with nine outs above average in center field. He also hit lefties well last season, with a .936 OPs against southpaws in 2023 and .824 for his career.
Stearns swung a trade for Tyrone Taylor earlier in the offseason as well to help the outfield depth.
The team’s options in the outfield are Brandon Nimmo, Starling Marte, DJ Stewart, Taylor, and Bader. Jeff McNeil can play in either corner, although the Mets would like to play him primarily at second base. The team made it clear that they wanted to add a strong defensive outfielder to the mix, so Bader could and probably will have a big role on the Mets throughout 2024.
