The St. Louis Cardinals are currently in the middle of a top-to-bottom rebuild.

Due to the team's current goals of building assets for the future, a lot of established veterans have been traded, The Cardinals have also signed veterans to short-term, cheap contracts with the possibility of being traded later on (for example, starting pitcher Dustin May).

One player that could have helped St. Louis gain assets later on and fill a hole in the outfield has signed with another National League team.

Outfielder Harrison Bader has signed a two-year, $20.5 million contract with the San Francisco Giants, per a report from the Athletic's Ken Rosenthal.

Bader was originally picked in the third round of the 2015 MLB Draft out of Florida. He made his major league debut for the Cardinals in 2017 and was on the team through 2022.

Bader's tenure with St. Louis came to an end when the team traded him to the New York Yankees on Aug. 2, 2022, in return for left-handed pitcher Jordan Montgomery.

Since then, Bader has bounced around the major leagues. He was claimed off waivers by the Cincinnati Reds on Aug. 31, 2023, elected free agency after the season, signed a one-year deal with the New York Mets for 2024 and signed a one-year deal with the Minnesota Twins the following offseason.

Bader was one of the many casualties of the Twins' fire sale at the trade deadline in 2025. Minnesota dealt him to the Philadelphia Phillies on July 31 last season.

While with the Cardinals, Bader has a slash line of .246/.320/.409 with a .729 OPS and hit 72 doubles, 11 triples and 52 home runs in 523 games.

Bader was a part of the organization's last four playoff teams from 2019-22, including the team that advanced to the National League Championship Series in '19.

With Bader off the table, St. Louis' options in the outfield are few and far between. Currently, the Cardinals' outfield core projects to be comprised of Victor Scott II, Lars Nootbaar and Jordan Walker.

All-Star second baseman Brendan Donovan is also capable of playing the outfield. One of the St. Louis' five top 100 prospects (per MLB Pipeline), Joshua Baez, is also predicted to take an extended role on the major league club in 2026.

Baez is yet to play a major league game for the Cardinals but had his contract selected by the team Nov. 18 last year, making him a part of the 40-man roster.

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