Giants Solidify Outfield Group With Signing of Harrison Bader

Defensive Fit

The Giants had arguably the worst defensive outfield in baseball last year. Fittingly, Buster Posey was clear about the need for improvement from that group at the very start of the offseason.

As a whole, San Francisco’s outfield was worth -18 Outs Above Average and -21 Defensive Runs Saved in 2025. With a Fielding Run Value of -15, all three numbers ranked in the bottom three when looking across Major League Baseball.

The team’s current center fielder, Jung Hoo Lee, did not profile as a very good defender in his first full season in MLB. The Giants will likely slide him over to right field and slot Bader in as the near-everyday center fielder.

With him being one of the best defensive outfielders in baseball since his debut, the group looks significantly better with San Francisco’s most recent addition.

Kyle Tucker and Cody Bellinger may have been the best available outfielders offensively, but no one on the market comes close to Bader in terms of outfield defense—a clear need for this team.

Offensive Fit

Bader is without a doubt coming off the best offensive season of his career.

With a significant uptick in his overall quality of contact, Bader held a career-high in Hard Hit rate at 40.3% and a well-improved Barrel rate of 10.2%.

This led to him posting career highs in a handful of offensive categories. Bader’s .277 AVG, .347 OBP, 122 wRC+, and 17 home runs were all the best marks of his career. This, mixed with his always superb defense, led to a 3.2 fWAR, which would have led all Giants outfielders in 2025.

While it’s yet to be seen who spends the majority of their time in right field for San Francisco, it will be an upgrade either way. The Giants got some of the worst production across baseball from that position in 2025.

The home runs, batting average, slugging percentage, and wRC+ all ranked in the bottom five in baseball throughout the course of the year.

Unfortunately, there is a real possibility that Bader’s offense takes a step back in 2026.

When you combine some of his expected numbers with the fact that he’ll play half his games in the pitcher-friendly confines of Oracle Park, it’d be no surprise to see him regress to his career norms.

Even if that were the case for San Francisco, it would still be an upgrade to what they were getting from their third outfielder last season.

When you consider it being an annual value of just $10.25 million, this deal was a no-brainer.

Final Thoughts

The Giants may not have added the flashiest bat on the market, but they did address a glaring weakness on the roster. Bader instantly changes the outlook of this team’s outfield defense while bringing some stability to a unit that actively cost them games in 2025.

This move directly aligns with one of the priorities the front office outlined at the start of the winter. Bader might not repeat what he did in 2025 offensively, but even modest regression would leave the Giants with an upgrade when compared to what they got a year ago.

At just over $10 million a year, the risk is minimal, and the floor of this team is higher than it was yesterday. The move won’t headline the offseason, but it does put the Giants in a better position as we inch closer to the 2026 season.