The Cardinals’ Winter Warmup fan event is this weekend, and newly-minted president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom took questions directly from fans as part of the festivities. As noted by Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, one of those questions was about former Cardinals (and current free agent) Harrison Bader’s availability on the market. In his response to that question, Bloom suggested that the same has “room” for a right-handed outfielder on the roster before acknowledging that Bader is a possibility to fill that void. Bloom declined to discuss Bader’s asking price, or any other specifics of contract talks.
It’s worth emphasizing that Bader, 32 in June, was the direct subject of the question Bloom was asked. That makes him being named as a potential fit less meaningful than it would be in other circumstances, though he would certainly be a solid addition for the club that took him in the third round of the 2015 draft. Bader ended his Cardinals career back in 2022, when he was traded to the Yankees in exchange for Jordan Montgomery over the summer. He left the Cardinals with a career .246/.320/.409 slash line, good for a wRC+ of 98. That roughly average offense was paired with elite defense in center field and a handful of stolen bases, and the outfielder was coming off a particularly strong 2021 campaign where he won a Gold Glove in center field and posted a 108 wRC+ with 16 homers in just 103 games.
Bader has generally struggled since leaving St. Louis, with lackluster stints playing for the Yankees, Reds, and Mets across the 2023 and ’24 seasons. With that being said, however, 2025 proved to be a career year for him. After signing with the Twins, he spent most of his time in left field out of deference to incumbent star Byron Buxton, but Bader managed to make up for the drop down the defensive spectrum with his bat. He hit a respectable .258/.339/.439 during his time in Minnesota, then kicked things up a notch when he was traded to Philadelphia and moved back to center field. Over his final 50 games last season, Bader slashed an excellent .305/.361/.463. That brought his overall season line up to .277/.347/.449 (122 wRC+) in a career-high 146 games, with 17 homers, 11 stolen bases, and +7 Outs Above Average.
It was a very impressive season, to be sure, and in a free agent class that lacks much right-swinging outfield talent it was enough to make a multi-year deal a reasonable ask for Bader as he reached the open market. Early in the offseason, a reunion with the Phillies seemed like the most likely outcome, but the team instead opted to bring Adolis Garcia into the fold to round out their outfield mix. With Garcia poised to patrol right and top prospect Justin Crawford likely to open the season in center field, there isn’t much room for Bader in the Philadelphia outfield mix at this point. Bader’s market has been fairly quiet outside of those early rumors of a Phillies reunion, which could open the door for a team like the Cardinals to try and be opportunistic.
St. Louis is far from the only team that stands out as a plausible fit for Bader, of course. Reunions with the Mets and Yankees could make sense, as well, particularly if Cody Bellinger winds up signing elsewhere. The Royals, Rays, and Guardians could use outfield help, but might not have the resources to mount a substantial pursuit of Bader. The Diamondbacks and Giants have a bit more financial muscle to flex and could theoretically make room for an outfield addition, but may prefer to stick with their internal options. Austin Hays, Miguel Andujar, Chas McCormick, and Randal Grichuk are among the alternatives to Bader available in free agency for teams looking for a right-handed outfielder this winter.