The San Francisco Giants’ slide could open the door for the Philadelphia Phillies to try the same trick twice.
At 34-48 and 9.5 games out of a playoff spot, the Giants look headed for a sell-off by the trade deadline. That puts several recognizable names in play, including Rafael Devers, Willy Adames and Matt Chapman. It also creates a possible path for the Phillies to revisit a familiar solution in center field: Harrison Bader.
Bader’s career has already taken plenty of turns. He broke in with the St.
Louis Cardinals and spent his first six major league seasons giving teams elite defense in center with steady, if unspectacular, offense. A 2022 deal to the New York Yankees started a stretch that sent the native New Yorker bouncing among seven different franchises over a five-year span.
Over his big league career, the 32-year-old owns a .244/.309/.400 line.
For the Phillies, though, Bader looked like a different player last season. After arriving in a midseason trade, he played 50 regular-season games and hit .305/.361/.463.
He stabilized a center field spot that had been a mess, one previously occupied by Johan Rojas and Odúbel Herrera. His value became even clearer when a groin injury derailed the Phillies’ playoff series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
That made him a popular name among fans this winter, but the Phillies moved in another direction. Former president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski passed on a return and instead brought in Adolis García, who is described in the source as a washed up World Series hero. Bader, meanwhile, landed with the Giants on a two-year, $20.5 million contract.
Neither move has paid off much. García struggled badly before season-ending surgery, and Bader has been limited to 30 games in San Francisco while dealing with trips to the injured list and a .557 OPS.
With the Giants in rough shape, the idea is straightforward: they may not need much more than salary relief to part with Bader. That could give the Phillies a chance to pounce.
Center field is still not settled in Philadelphia. Justin Crawford has not yet found his footing in the majors, and Derek Hill’s recent late-game heroics are unlikely to last forever. Bader also comes with obvious concerns of his own, including his poor start and his current plantar fasciitis.
Even so, a move for Bader would be a low-risk swing for a Phillies club that does not have much prospect capital to spend. It would not fix everything in center, but it would add another familiar, popular option to an outfield group that could use one. And after what happened last summer, the Phillies know exactly what that kind of lightning strike can look like.
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