The San Francisco Giants are bolstering their outfield with this slugger.
The San Francisco Giants had one of the worst outfields in baseball in 2025, and it played a role in them missing the postseason despite promising stretches of their campaign. One of the Giants’ goals this offseason was to bolster that weakness, and they’re bringing in a major to upgrade to their center field. San Francisco agreed to a two-year, $20.5 million deal with free agent center fielder Harrison Bader on Monday, sources tell ESPN.
The 31-one-year old immediately boosts their outfield with his premier defense, and he also posted one of his best seasons offensively this last year with the Minnesota Twins and Philadelphia Phillies when he was dealt at the trade deadline. Bader slashed .277/.347/.449 with 17 home runs, 54 RBI, and 11 stolen bases with a career-high in homers, his .796 OPS, and 117 OPS+. He won a Gold Glove in 2021 and continues to elevate his teams with high marks on defense.
Here is the full story from Giants Roundtable writer Anthony Arroyo on the signing and how it addresses a key need for San Francisco.
The presumptive move is to slide Jung Hoo Lee over from center to left field, and slotting in Bader as the every-day center fielder for SF. It’s finally a splashier move in what’s been a pretty quiet offseason for the Giants, who are still expected to shop around for a second baseman. It’s a fair approach to more careful and measured after a massive move for Rafael Devers via a trade last season that didn’t translate to getting the team over the hump.