Cardinals Ink Harrison Bader Thru 2023

CARDINALS INK HARRISON BADER THRU 2023; GOLD GLOVE OUTFIELDER & TEAM AVOID SALARY ARBITRATION

JUPITER, Fla., April 3, 2022 – The St. Louis Cardinals announced today that they have agreed with outfielder Harrison Bader on a two-year (2022-23) contract, avoiding an arbitration hearing.

Bader, 27, was recognized as the games’ top defensive centerfielder in 2021 with his first Rawlings Gold Glove award. He has stood among the majors top defensive outfielders dating back to 2018 when he was named to the Baseball America and Topps All-Rookie teams.

Since the beginning of the 2018 season, Bader leads all Major League outfielders in Defensive Runs Saved (47), Outs Above Average (47) and Runs Prevented (42), and he ranks 3^rd in Defensive War (3.5). His .973 Defensive Zone Rating in 2021 was the highest of any Major League outfielder since the category began being tracked in 1997, according to Stats Perform.

Bader batted a career best .267 last season while also compiling career single-season bests for home runs (16) and RBI (50) in his 103 games played. He has a career batting mark of .244/.323/.417 with 47 HR’s, 147 RBI and 40 stolen bases in 451 games.

The right-handed hitting Bader was a 3^rd round draft selection (100^th player overall) by the Cardinals in 2015 out of the University of Florida, and he was voted the Cardinals Minor League Player of the Year in 2017.

— STL —

---

Reports are it’s a 2 year, $10.4M contract; it breaks down to $4.7M each season with a $1M signing bonus he’ll receive immediately.

It’s not surprising that they would buy out his arbitration years; if he builds upon a solid 2021, he’ll be worth more then the $4.7M he’s owed next year. If he’s not as good, he’d still be guaranteed a raise through the arbitration process. Even is he doesn’t hit, his defense is worth that.

This signings leaves Tyler O’Neill as the only arbitrations case left open. His hearing should be this week. I doubt he gets a similar deal at this point; he’s got an extra year of team control. He could work out something longer, but the team could chance it and approach his about an extension next year.

Bader’s deal has been added to both the Salary Matrix and the Transaction Tracker for the team.