The San Francisco Giants will have to finish the 2026 season without Harrison Bader, and the news only got worse after his scooter accident over the weekend.
Manager Tony Vitello said Bader is done for the year, even after the club learned the scooter crash had complicated the foot issue that had already sidelined him. Bader had not played since May 29 because of plantar fasciitis in his left foot, and he had been scheduled to meet with a foot specialist in Indianapolis earlier this week. That plan changed once the accident prompted more testing, including an MRI to check the extent of the damage.
The Giants first revealed Tuesday that Bader had been involved in a scooter accident Saturday night or early Sunday morning. The team said the incident aggravated his foot injury and altered the direction of his medical evaluation.
More details followed from the San Francisco Fire Department and the San Francisco Police Department, per Yahoo Sports. They said a traffic collision involving a scooter happened around 2 a.m.
Sunday in San Francisco’s Marina District. The rider was taken to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Reports also said the accident happened near the Balboa Cafe after the scooter collided with a fire engine.
Vitello made clear the crash didn’t change the bigger picture. Bader was already headed toward a season-ending absence because of the foot problem that had kept him out for more than two months.
This season was never really able to get rolling for Bader. He also missed about a month earlier in the year with a hamstring injury, and the two setbacks limited him to 30 games in his first season with San Francisco after signing a two-year, $20.5 million free-agent deal in the offseason.
When he was in the lineup, the production never matched the contract. Bader hit .170 with a .198 on-base percentage and a .358 slugging percentage in 106 at-bats. He finished with five home runs, 14 RBIs and no stolen bases, and his 54 OPS+ was the lowest mark of his Major League career.
Still, the Giants knew what they were getting on the defensive side. Bader, a former Gold Glove winner, has long been regarded as one of the better defensive center fielders in the league when healthy.
Now San Francisco has one fewer veteran outfielder as it moves through the rest of the season. With the Giants out of playoff contention and nearing the MLB trade deadline, Bader’s absence adds to the sense that the club is looking ahead while sorting out its roster for what comes next.
In Other News...
Warriors Already Have Early Proof They Nailed A Key Draft Call
Golden State had a chance to get cute on draft night, but instead the front office stayed put and used the 11th pick on Yaxel Lendeborg after declining Oklahoma Citys offer to move up. The deal would have brought back future second-round picks, but the Warriors passed, betting on the player they wanted rather than the extra assets, and that choice already looks like a smart one for a team trying to keep finding value wherever it can.
Lendeborg backed up the decision quickly in summer league, where he was named MVP and helped lead the Warriors to the championship. Oklahoma Citys Aday Mara, taken one spot later, flashed a few encouraging signs, but the early returns have tilted clearly toward Golden State, which at least for now seems to have found a clean win in a draft process that could matter well beyond July. [Read more 🡒]
Warriors Get Encouraging Moses Moody Update After Trade Buzz
Moses Moodys recovery has taken a promising step forward, a welcome update for a Warriors team that has spent plenty of time this summer weighing roster possibilities and rotation stability. Four months after surgery to repair a torn patellar tendon, Moody is making good progress in his rehab, and the organization is expected to stay patient rather than push him back before he is ready.
The next checkpoint matters, though, because it will help frame just how soon Golden State can realistically count on him again. If the rehab keeps trending in the right direction, Moody should remain part of the conversation for the Warriors when he returns, which gives the team at least one encouraging internal storyline to monitor as the season approaches. [Read more 🡒]
Warriors Face One Trade Dilemma In Pursuit Of Bench Scoring
The Warriors search for more bench scoring has only become more urgent as the roster has settled into its new shape, and one name floating in that conversation is tied to Milwaukees post-Giannis reshuffling. After Giannis Antetokounmpo was dealt to the Heat, the Bucks brought in several pieces, and among the players drawing outside attention is a young wing who turned in a strong season and has the kind of offensive profile that could help Golden States second unit.
Even so, the path to a deal does not look simple. League chatter has centered on the idea of using draft capital to make it happen, but the Warriors have been cautious about moving future picks, especially for a player whose contract situation adds another layer of complexity. Between the price in assets and the extension questions that come with it, this is the sort of trade idea that sounds helpful for a bench that needs scoring, yet still feels unlikely to become real unless the market shifts. [Read more 🡒]