The Philadelphia Phillies are on the brink of elimination from the MLB playoffs, as they have to win three games in a row if they want to top the Los Angeles Dodgers.
During the regular season, Philly made a solid trade deadline move by acquiring outfielder Harrison Bader from the Minnesota Twins. However, Bader is on just a one-year deal and is set to hit the open market this winter.
Phillies’ Harrison Bader named ‘dark horse’ option for Guardians
Harrison Bader has been a solid pickup for the Phillies. He hit .305 with five home runs in 50 games with Philadelphia down the final two-month stretch of the regular season. His season average is .277, and he’s added 17 home runs and a bWAR of 4.2, which is a career high.
It would not be a surprise if Bader ended up re-signing with the Phillies, but the Cleveland Guardians have also been linked to the 31-year-old outfielder.
In a recent Bleacher Report piece, Bader is named as a ‘dark horse’ option for the Cleveland Guardians. His Spotrac value is listed at two years, $20 million.
“The fit is readily apparent, as Steven Kwan was the only Guardians outfielder who amounted to anything in 2025. But the idea of this franchise winning a bidding war for a player fresh off the best season of his career is almost incomprehensible. Settling on a “maybe he’ll bounce back” flyer for someone like Cedric Mullins is much more Cleveland’s speed.”
The Guardians aren’t necessarily big spenders, but with such a bad outfield that has little to no offensive production, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to commit to Harrison Bader for a couple of years.
Check out more of TJ French’s stories here:
