Yankees place Gold Glove outfielder on waivers

The Yankees have placed center fielder Harrison Bader on waivers, reports Erik Boland of Newsday. As is the case with the Angels’ series of waiver placements, New York’s hope is that another team will claim the remaining salary of a player who was headed to free agency in a couple of months.

To be clear, these are irrevocable waivers — either of the outright or release variety. The previous system of August waiver trades — where a team could rescind a placement if another club made a claim and the two sides didn’t work out a trade — was done away with in 2019. Whichever claiming team with the highest waiver priority as of Thursday morning will get Bader while taking on the remainder of his arbitration salary. (The waiver priority is in inverse order of the MLB standings and is not league-specific.) The Yankees won’t receive any compensation besides the salary relief. In the unlikely event that he goes unclaimed, he’d have the ability to become a free agent while retaining his remaining salary but could decide to play out the season with New York.

It’s very likely the end of Bader’s year-plus-long tenure in the Bronx. New York acquired him at last summer’s deadline in a surprising one-for-one swap that sent Jordan Montgomery to St. Louis. Both players had a season and a half of remaining arbitration control at the time, making it a rather straightforward swap of veterans among contending clubs to address positions of need.

The deal worked out better for St. Louis, as Montgomery has stayed healthy and performed at an upper mid-rotation level since leaving New York. Bader played well at times for the Yankees — headlined by his five homers in nine postseason games last October — but continued dealing with various injury concerns that have plagued him throughout his career.

Bader has landed on the injured list twice this season. He started the year on the shelf with an oblique strain and missed a few weeks with a hamstring issue. He has struggled mightily since returning on June 20, slumping to a .230/.272/.304 batting line in 55 contests. His season slash is down to .242/.279/.370 with just seven homers through 302 plate appearances.

It’s arguably the worst offensive showing of Bader’s career. While he’s never posted huge on-base numbers, this year’s mark is a personal low. It’s the 11th-lowest figure for a hitter with 300+ trips to the dish. Bader is avoiding strikeouts but very rarely walks and has hit just .274 on balls in play.

The offensive struggles are ill-timed for a player on the verge of his first trip to the open market. Yet his secondary skills are strong enough that he’s likely to attract interest from another team down the stretch. Bader is a plus defensive center fielder who has again been rated highly in his 655 1/3 innings there this season. He has stolen 16 bases in 18 attempts. He at least looks the part of a high-end fourth outfielder, even if other teams are reluctant to displace their starting center fielder for a player who hasn’t hit well of late.

Bader is only likely to appeal to teams in playoff contention. He’ll still be a free agent at year’s end. Taking on what remains of his $5.2M salary (a little under $900K) only appeals to teams with a shot at contending. The Yankees would save that amount in salary, plus the 75% tax they’re paying for exceeding the CBT for a second straight season. With New York out of playoff contention and Bader’s rough season taking him out of consideration to receive a qualifying offer, the Yankees have decided to make him available to other clubs.