Harrison Bader makes decision on mutual option with Phillies

The Philadelphia Phillies announced that Harrison Bader has declined his end of a $10M mutual option for 2026. He will now return to free agency, collecting a $3M buyout on his way back to the open market.

Bader, 32 in June, is coming off a strong season. One of the top outfield defenders in the game, his offense has been inconsistent. 2024 was his third straight season with subpar offense, by measure of wRC+.

He settled for a one-year, $6.25M deal with the Twins coming into 2025. That broke down as a $750K signing bonus, a $4M base salary and a $1.5M buyout on a $10M mutual option. He could also increase the value of the buyout via plate appearance bonuses. By making 501 appearances this year, he hit all the bonuses and added another $1.5M to the buyout value.

Those plate appearances were split between the Twins and Phillies, as Minnesota fell out of the playoff race and turned into deadline sellers, flipping Bader to Philadelphia. Bader’s deal also had a $500K assignment bonus for getting traded, so he unlocked that as well.

Can Harrison Bader sustain his offensive output?

Overall, he performed well. He hit .277/.347/.449 for a 122 wRC+. Thanks to that offense joining forces with his typically strong baserunning and defense, FanGraphs credited him with 3.2 wins above replacement on the year.

The offense probably isn’t wholly sustainable. He had a .359 batting average on balls in play this year. That’s higher than his .305 career rate and the .291 league average in 2025. Regardless, he may have played himself into a nice multi-year deal this winter. It’s possible that could come with the Phillies but they are reportedly looking to make an outfield shake-up, which figures to include moving on from Nick Castellanos. Whether Bader can fit into the plans might depend on how that shuffle plays out.