According to multiple reports from major news outlets, the New York Mets agreed to terms with OF Harrison Bader with the contract details being 1 year, $10.5 Million. As it continues to show the organization’s plans to focus on not just pitching to prevent runs, but also defense as a majority of positional player moves have been defensive first players with mediocre bats. Bader struggled mightily in 2023 on and off the field with injuries and it seems like the Mets are currently betting on the right-handed defense and speed first outfielder. This puts the Mets’ depth chart in the outfield to 5, but I wouldn’t expect the Mets to carry 5 outfielders with the organization showing interest in INF/DH Justin Turner, DH J.D Martinez, INF Gio Urshela, and if the Mets add even one of those guys I would expect one of Taylor or Stewart to be moved down to Syracuse, but with Taylor having no more remaining options and Stewart still carrying 1, if he was to have a bad spring he could be the odd man out. Let’s take a look at the new Mets addition statistics:
Harrison Bader’s 2023 Stats:
⁃ 344 PAs
⁃ .232/.274/.348
⁃ 7 HR/.116 ISO
⁃ .291 xwOBA
⁃ .325 xwOBACON
⁃ 9 OAA
⁃ 28.8 Sprint Speed
⁃ 70 wRC+
⁃ 1.0 fWAR
His bat struggled a ton last year between his time with the Yankees and Reds, but the fielding and baserunning continue to be very impressive, and on top of that he leads all outfielders in OAA since 2018 (68 OAA). One thing I do like about his bat from this past year was his ability to hit LHP, as he posted a 153 wRC+ against southpaws, if he can bring a solid bat against LHP, with his defensive and baserunning abilities the Mets made a good move here.
BS Reports 
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