The Philadelphia Phillies have struggled with the outfield in recent years. Dave Dombrowski, president of baseball operations, made little moves this winter despite having another offseason to address the position group. Earlier this week, Harrison Bader, who played for the Phillies for the second half of the previous season, agreed to a two-year, $20 million deal with the San Francisco Giants.
The arrival of rookie Justin Crawford in center field is the only noteworthy development in the outfield. Fans should anticipate some offensive and defensive growing pains, but hopefully he can become their outfield anchor. In this instance, the team’s depth at the position might have been enhanced by re-signing Bader.
Harrison Bader doesn’t know why he’s not back with Phillies
Bader discussed why he thinks he didn’t receive a contract offer to return to the Phillies on The Show podcast with Joel Sherman and Jon Heyman after word of his agreement with the Giants leaked.
“With regards to the Phillies, I just think they have a lot of people to worry about,” Bader stated. “When they’re trying to build a roster, it’s not just about me and my career; there’s a lot of money at stake. I’m not sure why I’m not with them. I’m not sure, but it doesn’t take away from the incredible experience I had there. It doesn’t take away from the amazing two and a half months I spent there; I simply believe they took a different route, which is perfectly acceptable.”
Bader admitting, “Why I’m not with them, I don’t know,” is just one minor sentence but it will haunt the contingent of Phillies supporters that hoped to see him back in red pinstripes.
Harrison Bader immediately stops by to explain why he accepted a Giants contract. We discuss the redesigned Mets in a comprehensive conversation with Carlos Mendoza in this special episode.
Phillies missed a golden opportunity to improve their outfield
The outfield would have benefited from having Bader. However, it’s possible that the front management didn’t feel compelled to re-sign Bader if the Phillies plan to offer Crawford plenty of center field playing time. The product of Bronxville, New York, has only participated in 83 games as a left fielder. But as a right-handed hitter, he would have been a perfect match for left-handed hitters like Brandon Marsh or Crawford.
Finding the Phillies’ right field replacement for Nick Castellanos was Dombrowski’s top priority because, despite having one more year left on his five-year, $100 million contract, Castellanos is not anticipated to return. Adolis GarcÃa agreed to a one-year, $10 million contract to be Philadelphia’s starting right fielder in 2026.
Maybe the Phillies misjudged Bader’s market and added GarcÃa too soon? However, it’s possible that the front office only intended to give Bader a one-year contract.
Philadelphia has been economical in the contracts it has awarded outfielders in recent winters, following the agreements with Castellanos and Kyle Schwarber prior to the 2022 season. They signed GarcÃa back in December after agreeing to a one-year contract with Max Kepler during the previous offseason.
If Bader had been re-signed, the Phillies’ outfield would have been better. It appears that Philadelphia’s outfield will continue to struggle with the issue of having too many part-timers at the position, which has been one of their issues over the past several seasons, unless Crawford succeeds in his first major league season and GarcÃa bounces back from two poor years.
