Stay or Go: Should Mets bring Harrison Bader back for 2025 season?

Harrison Bader signed with the Mets on a one-year, $10.5 million deal last offseason, and he seemed to be a perfect fit in Queens. An elite defender in center field, Bader also came out of the gates hot at the plate, and was one of the Mets’ best clutch hitters in the early going.

But as the season went on and the Mets warmed up, Bader cooled off. After slashing .273/.312/.421 in the first half of the season, Bader was ice cold in the second half, slashing .167/.230/.283. By mid-August, Bader had lost his job as the starting center fielder to Tyrone Taylor, and saw most of his action as a late-inning defensive replacement. He also started just two games in the postseason.

The Mets have a pivotal offseason ahead of them, and figuring out their outfield situation is certainly a priority. Should the Mets bring Bader back for 2025? Let’s dig in…

Why it could make sense to let Bader walk

As highlighted above, Bader’s bat has always been a bit of an issue for him. He’s never hit higher than .267 in any single season, and he’s hit under the .240 mark in five of his eight pro seasons. As great as Bader is defensively (more on that in a bit), his streaky hitting makes him a fringe starter at this point in his career.

By the end of the season, the Mets featured a starting outfield of Brandon Nimmo, Taylor, and Starling Marte, from left to right. All of those players are either under contract or arbitration eligible (Taylor) for the upcoming season, so they’ll all probably be back unless David Stearns elects to shake things up and make a trade or two.

Of course, Juan Soto will play a huge factor in all of this. The Mets are expected to be big-time players for the perennial All-Star, and if they were to land him, hypothetically speaking, of course, there would be a bit of a logjam in the outfield, so letting Bader walk would be a bit of a no-brainer.

Why it could make sense to bring Bader back

Defense, defense, defense.

As we know, Citi Field has an expansive outfield, and not every center fielder has the range to be able to play gap to gap at a high level. Bader’s advanced numbers on defense are terrific. His nine runs prevented ranked 14^th among all major league outfielders, and his 10 outs above average ranked 15^th, placing him in the 95^th percentile in that category. Baseball Savant also ranks Bader’s arm strength in the 86^th percentile among all outfielders.

If Bader is willing to take a bench role, he’s the exact kind of player teams want. He provides excellent defense, can run the bases well, and plays with the kind of hustle and toughness you want to see. And when he’s hot at the plate, he can also provide some pop, particularly against lefties, against whom he has a career .461 slugging percentage.

Verdict

While Bader looked like an outstanding pickup during the first half of last season, he tailed off so drastically at the plate that it’s hard to imagine him coming back to the Mets in 2025.

The Mets likely have some grand plans in the outfield, namely the pursuit of Soto, and with his starting role seemingly gone, Bader will likely look to move on and pursue other options.