Unbelievable: Harrison Bader announce his departure from the team after facing several…

May 18, 2024 admin MLB 0

Harrison Bader teaches Mets' Drew Gilbert importance of 'unseen' offseason prep

The Mets bolstered their outfield alignment with a native New Yorker, signing Harrison Bader to a one-year contract, the club announced on Friday. The deal is worth $10.5 million, a source told MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand.

A Bronxville, N.Y., native who attended Horace Mann High School in The Bronx, Bader is familiar with and has become a familiar face in the Big Apple, spending parts of 2022 and ‘23 with the Yankees. The 29-year-old is a career .243/.310/.396 hitter over parts of seven seasons with the Cardinals, Yankees and Reds, and is considered one of the game’s elite defenders.

“We’re very happy to add Harrison to our team. He has continually distinguished himself as one of the best defenders in baseball and can help us win games in a variety of different ways,” Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns said in a statement. “He’s a native New Yorker who knows what baseball means to this city and our fan base.”

Bader is also more than familiar with Mets star Pete Alonso; the two were teammates at the University of Florida from 2014-15, including the Gators’ run to the Men’s College World Series in 2015. Alonso welcomed Bader to the Mets with a post on Instagram on Thursday afternoon.

Injuries and uncertainty exacerbated the Mets’ need for outfield depth this winter. Originally, the team headed into the offseason hoping to begin 2024 with a starting outfield of Jeff McNeil (left), Brandon Nimmo (center) and Starling Marte (right), with DJ Stewart also in the mix. But now New York will need McNeil at second base after prospect Ronny Mauricio suffered a serious knee injury in December, and the 35-year-old Marte remains a question mark after battling various lower-body injuries the past few seasons.

The Mets have responded by acquiring two glove-first outfielders in the past few weeks, first trading for Tyrone Taylor in a multi-player deal with Milwaukee and now acquiring Bader, long one of the league’s top fielding outfielders. A Gold Glove winner with the Cardinals in 2021, Bader posted 66 Outs Above Average, per Statcast, from 2018-23, tops among outfielders and fourth among all defenders in MLB, behind only three elite shortstops. Kevin Kiermaier (58 OAA) was the only outfielder in Bader’s vicinity, with Manuel Margot (47 OAA) next in line over that span.

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