How Harrison Bader Deal Impacts Giants Outfield Defense and Lineup

The San Francisco Giants have agreed to a deal with Harrison Bader to a two-year contract. Here is how he impacts their outfield rotation and defense.

Philadelphia Phillies Harrison Bader swing a bat with a weight on it. | Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

The San Francisco Giants have sought to improve their outfield this offseason, but until Monday they came up with nothing.

Harrison Bader changes that in a significant way.

The Giants and Bader have agreed to a two-year deal, first reported by The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal (subscription required). Per Jon Heyman of the New York Post on X (formerly Twitter), the deal is worth $20.5 million with incentives that can push it to $21 million. San Francisco has not formally announced the deal.

San Francisco has prioritized trying to improve their outfield defense. Bader fits that profile and he brings a resurgent bat to a Giants lineup that can use some bottom-of-the-order power.

How Harrison Bader Impacts Giants

Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Harrison Bader reacts to a victory. | Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

Bader likely slots into center field for San Francisco. He’s logged 769 of his 876 career games at the position. Last year’s starting center fielder, Jung Hoo Lee, was part of an outfield alignment that finished the season with minus-26 defensive runs saved. Lee was responsible for minus-20 DRS, with minus-18 of that coming in center field.

Bader, on the other hand, is a great fit in center field. Per Fangraphs, Bader had a plus-13 DRS as he played in center field and left field. In fact, per Justice delos Santos, who covers the Giants for the San Jose Mercury-News, reported Bader’s incredible defensive performance the past several years.

Harrison Bader is worth 51 Defensive Runs Saved and 67 Outs Above Average in his career as a center fielder, per delos Santos. So, putting Bader anywhere other than center field doesn’t solve the problem. Lee has never played a game in the Majors anywhere else but center field. But the likely move is to put Lee in right, keeping Heliot Ramos in left field.

Drew Gilbert, who started at right field in the final month of last season, likely slides into a fourth outfielder role. Given his lack of MLB experience, that’s a good spot for the rookie, who played for new manager Tony Vitello at Tennessee. The other 40-man spots currently belong to Jerar Encarnacion, Luis Matos and Grant McCray. Bader isn’t on the 40-man roster yet, so the Giants will have to make a corresponding move to make room.

Meanwhile, Bader’s bat has improved of late. He has a lifetime slash of .247/.313/.401 with 88 home runs and 322 RBI. Last year in 146 games with the Twins and the Phillies he slashed .277/.347/.449 with 17 home runs and 54 RBI. From a slugging perspective, it was his best season since 2021, when he slashed .267/.324/.460 with 16 home runs and 50 RBI.

If he can hit like that for the Giants he’s a double-whammy signing — power at the bottom of the order and top-shelf defense in center field, a combination that will make San Francisco much better in 2026.