BREAKING: Twins Agree to One-Year Deal With Outfielder Harrison Bader

[nicksaviking]

10 hours ago, USAFChief said:

Explain to me how Bader on the roster will prevent Keaschel's callup. 

As for ERod, he's not going to get called up as a 4th OFer, so i don't think Bader will stand in his way either.

Because Castro is no longer the Buxton replacement/4th outfielder, so instead he'll regularly be manning whatever infield position they stick him at this year, which will be a road block Keaschell has between him and getting called up.

[UK Twin]

2 hours ago, nicksaviking said:

Because Castro is no longer the Buxton's replacement/4th outfielder, so instead he'll regularly be manning whatever infield position they stick him at this year, which will be a road block Keaschell from getting called up.

Unless he's traded of course - a very real possibility.

[twinstalker]

13 hours ago, nicksaviking said:

Ugh, well there goes 400 PA to a guy who can't hit. Offense is taking a step back and the offense is what was the biggest concern this offseason.

LOL.  270 comments on this guy.  It's fine bringing him in, but if you knew a few days ago the Twins had $10 million to spend, I'm wondering how you would actually spend it.  Honestly, Bader shouldn't get more than 250 PAs, but the problem is you know he will.

Bader's last "good" year was 2021 when he hit like average Kepler.  It would be a fluke if he put up those kind of numbers for the Twins, less a fluke if the Twins only really played him vs lhp.

[ddubbl1]

13 hours ago, thelanges5 said:

2 40 man spots to cut now - who goes?

adios Julienne!!! 5 losses (from your worthless defense) and 47 strike 3s just standing there picking his ..blank. still sad we lost Hank Conger at 1st base coach!@

[UK Twin]

2 hours ago, nicksaviking said:

This is just obstinate. Willfully and stubbornly.

The Twins ills are with the offense. I can only assume you haven't watched or listened to a game in the last two years, because this is very, very clear. So yes, they 100% should be prioritizing fixing the offense. This only hurts that effort.

Yes they should be looking to fix the offense. And they've started by hiring new coaches. The Twins have a lot of young, talented hitters. Arguably the most talented of those, Lewis, slumped really badly at the back end of last season. Signing Bader does not hurt the effort at all. Bader hasn't been signed to hit .300 or to drive in 100 runs - if he can replicate his numbers from last year (12 HR's, 51 RBI) Twins will more than take that to go along with what else he offers. 

Twins can fix the offense by working with Lewis, Wallner, Lee, Julien, Jeffers and further down the line Rodriguez and Keaschall. There's so much potential there.

[Riverbrian]

5 hours ago, nicksaviking said:

This is just obstinate. Willfully and stubbornly.

The Twins ills are with the offense. I can only assume you haven't watched or listened to a game in the last two years, because this is very, very clear. So yes, they 100% should be prioritizing fixing the offense. This only hurts that effort.

Myself... I don't listen to the opinions of someone who wanted the Twins to lose last September in order to keep them out of the playoffs.

That's the guy you are talking to. 

 

[Riverbrian]

9 hours ago, NYCTK said:

This is what the Tigers did. Some vets were bad so they just played the kids. 

Anyone acting like the Twins are handcuffed to Bader are just admitting Rocco should be fired immediately. 

I'm well aware of what the Tigers did. 

What the Tigers did was get rid of every single vet they had at the deadline because they thought they had no chance. 

They traded the vets that had enough value to interest other teams. Flaherty, Canha, Chafin and Carson Kelly. They Cut Gio Urshela and Shelby Miller and the last vet standing... expensive defensive wizard Javier Baez was placed on the injured list to conclude his season.

They cleared the deck for young players making the minimum from the 6th ranked farm system in baseball. (Twins were 2nd Ranked in 2024). With a team of nothing but young players they went on a best in baseball run to make the playoffs, by passing our Twins as you cheered on TD for the Twins to lose because they didn't deserve the playoffs in your opinion. The Tigers young blinded by the lights talent then knocked off the Astros in the playoffs before falling to Cleveland 3 games to 2. 

By bringing up the Tigers... you are actually at least partially making Chia Pet's argument. Yet you are trying so hard to argue against. The Tigers in 2024 does not justify the signing of Harrison Bader for 6.25 MILLION DOLLARS. 

You and anyone giving you a thumbs up for this comment. Should probably step back and try to understand what Chia Pet and Nicksaviking are saying because bringing up the Tigers shows that you don't understand. 

 

 

[Riverbrian]

According to roster resource. The current projected Twins roster contains:

8 Right Handed Hitters

3 Left Handed Hitters

2 Switch Hitters

75% of the pitching that the Twins will face is right handed. 

By playing the left vs left numbers correctly... They are playing it wrong by over focusing on the 25%. 

They win the battle and lose the war. Harrison Bader is just a continuation down this path.  

[NYCTK]

1 hour ago, Riverbrian said:

Myself... I don't listen to the opinions of someone who wanted the Twins to lose last September in order to keep them out of the playoffs.

That's the guy you are talking to. 

 

Sorry I saw the 2024 Twins for what they were. A bad team undeserving of limping into the playoffs and getting swept. 

Many here apparently hate the Twins way more than I do. I actually enjoyed seeing them improve yesterday and some of you all got upset they didn't spend their limited resources in the very narrow way you desired. 

18 minutes ago, Riverbrian said:

I'm well aware of what the Tigers did. 

What the Tigers did was get rid of every single vet they had at the deadline because they thought they had no chance. 

They traded the vets that had enough value to interest other teams. Flaherty, Canha, Chafin and Carson Kelly. They Cut Gio Urshela and Shelby Miller and the last vet standing... expensive defensive wizard Javier Baez was placed on the injured list to conclude his season.

They cleared the deck for young players making the minimum from the 6th ranked farm system in baseball. (Twins were 2nd Ranked in 2024). With a team of nothing but young players they went on a best in baseball run to make the playoffs, by passing our Twins as you cheered on TD for the Twins to lose because they didn't deserve the playoffs in your opinion. The Tigers young blinded by the lights talent then knocked off the Astros in the playoffs before falling to Cleveland 3 games to 2. 

By bringing up the Tigers... you are actually at least partially making Chia Pet's argument. Yet you are trying so hard to argue against. The Tigers in 2024 does not justify the signing of Harrison Bader for 6.25 MILLION DOLLARS. 

You and anyone giving you a thumbs up for this comment. Should probably step back and try to understand what Chia Pet and Nicksaviking are saying because bringing up the Tigers shows that you don't understand. 

 

 

OK. Fire Rocco. Fire Falvey. 

The Twins gave out a below league average non-controlled contract to a decent player that, without a doubt, improves the team in important ways and folks here are freaking out because they don't trust anyone in the organization to use him in a way they don't hate. 

[Major League Ready]

51 minutes ago, Riverbrian said:

According to roster resource. The current projected Twins roster contains:

8 Right Handed Hitters

3 Left Handed Hitters

2 Switch Hitters

75% of the pitching that the Twins will face is right handed. 

By playing the left vs left numbers correctly... They are playing it wrong by over focusing on the 25%. 

They win the battle and lose the war. Harrison Bader is just a continuation down this path.  

Miranda is actually better against RHP and martin has a 1 percent difference in wRC+.  Three of their best hitters (Lewis/Correa/Buxton) are RH and two of them are catchers.  Which RH (other than Vazquez) do you want to get rid of or replace with a LH?

[Brock Beauchamp]

11 hours ago, tony&rodney said:

Emmanuel has more at bats in AAA than both Chourio and Merrill from last year's rookie class. That argument doesn't carry with special players. Mauer never played AAA and had only 73 games at AA.

Rodriguez is a good prospect. He's nowhere near the class of Chourio or Mauer. Both Chourio and Mauer were literally the best prospects in baseball as teenagers.

This is an unreasonable scale on which to grade Emmanuel, you're just going to be disappointed if you hold him to the standard of a Hall of Fame catcher and a guy who signed a ten-year MLB contract as a teenager.

[Riverbrian]

59 minutes ago, NYCTK said:

Sorry I saw the 2024 Twins for what they were. A bad team undeserving of limping into the playoffs and getting swept. 

Many here apparently hate the Twins way more than I do. I actually enjoyed seeing them improve yesterday and some of you all got upset they didn't spend their limited resources in the very narrow way you desired. 

OK. Fire Rocco. Fire Falvey. 

The Twins gave out a below league average non-controlled contract to a decent player that, without a doubt, improves the team in important ways and folks here are freaking out because they don't trust anyone in the organization to use him in a way they don't hate. 

There is no justification for wishing that the Twins don't make the playoffs. NONE. 

The very second you typed that your opinion no longer mattered to me.

And now you think others apparently hate the Twins more than you because they are not fans of the acquisition. But wishing they don't make the playoff is an indication of love.

Don't talk to me about hate. 

I'll be cheering my butt off for Hader to do well. If he does well, I'll acknowledge it. So will Chia Pet.

I'll go back to asking... you won't do it but I'll ask again.

Go back... read what Chia Pet is saying. Try to understand what he is saying and try again. 

 

[NYCTK]

1 minute ago, Riverbrian said:

The very second you typed that your opinion no longer mattered to me.

Thankfully, I don't care. 

[Riverbrian]

57 minutes ago, Major League Ready said:

Miranda is actually better against RHP and martin has a 1 percent difference in wRC+.  Three of their best hitters (Lewis/Correa/Buxton) are RH and two of them are catchers.  Which RH (other than Vazquez) do you want to get rid of or replace with a LH?

Last Year around this time. I questioned if giving up one big piece (Polanco) for 4 smaller pieces was good strategy. I wasn't even being definitive at the time but you took that question and forced me to defend Polanco while you talked about how the Twins were log-jammed with Julien and Farmer covering 2B and then you proceded to beat me over the head with how Cleveland built their roster like I didn't understand how Cleveland built their roster even after I acknowledged that the Twins may have won the trade with the acquisition of Gabriel Gonzalez alone. You also lumped me into a group of people who wanted the Twins to spend like there is no tomorrow when I've never once complained about pay roll. 

If you are capable of understanding my point. I'll answer your question. If your not capable of understanding my point... Just ignore my answer and we will keep our distance from each other. 

Your Question: Which RH (Other than Vazquez) do I want to get rid of or replace with a LH? 

My Answer: Harrison Bader

[tony&rodney]

1 minute ago, Brock Beauchamp said:

Rodriguez is a good prospect. He's nowhere near the class of Chourio or Mauer. Both Chourio and Mauer were literally the best prospects in baseball as teenagers.

This is an unreasonable scale on which to grade Emmanuel, you're just going to be disappointed if you hold him to the standard of a Hall of Fame catcher and a guy who signed a ten-year MLB contract as a teenager.

And Merrill, a prospect not as highly rated? 

Milwaukee had players to play ahead of Chourio but they stuck with him despite two plus months of a near .210 BA. Your team, the Bewers, wins with confidence in their young players. Why can the Brewers play Ortiz, Turang, Frelick, and Mitchell? Is age the barometer? Contract?

The point was that the Twins need a boost to their lineup and to their team and they need to trust their rookies at some point or get value for them in trade if they just prefer more experienced players.

Nobody knows how a rookie will do as evidenced by the experience of Jackson Holliday last season. Sometimes a team needs to have enough confidence in a player that they give that player a real shot. The Twins would never have stuck with Chourio into mid June. I'm not comparing Rodriguez to other players. He is quite a bit different in a host of skills and weaknesses. If the only way a Twins player gets an opportunity as a rookie is via an injury, that player faces a tough road wondering if they slip up or slump and glancing over their shoulder expecting to be replaced when the veteran is healed up again.

 

[Brock Beauchamp]

4 minutes ago, tony&rodney said:

Milwaukee had players to play ahead of Chourio but they stuck with him despite two plus months of a near .210 BA. Your team, the Bewers, wins with confidence in their young players. Why can the Brewers play Ortiz, Turang, Frelick, and Mitchell? Is age the barometer? Contract?

If Chourio hadn't signed that contract, he wouldn't have opened the season on the roster.

And Chourio had no flaws in his game, literally the *only* concern was his age. Rodriguez has piles of questions around him:

1. Is he actually a CF?
2. Will his swing-and-miss kill him against MLB pitching?
3. Is he too passive?

You're comparing basically flawless prospects in Chourio and Mauer to a guy with real questions and real flaws. Rodriguez is a good prospect who will likely play a role on an MLB team. But whereas Mauer and Chourio's success was basically guaranteed by the time they were 20 years old, Rodriguez still has question marks around him and less than 200 PAs in the upper minors to quell those questions.

[LambchoP]

I like the signing. Buxton insurance and platoon partner in the corner OF. He may not have the best bat, but he'll run into an occasional HR. Most importantly, he'll give us good defense and speed on the bases. Him and Castro might be our only base stealers. We needed to improve the teams athleticism, defense and speed. Bader helps with all that. As long as we don't have to rely on him as an everyday OF for long stretches of time, this should improve the team. Now let's go get Cease and call it an off-season!

[DJL44]

11 hours ago, tony&rodney said:

The history of special players getting put right in the starting lineup is long. Cal Griffith ordered Rod Carew to be in the lineup every day. Last year Milwaukee played Jackson Chourio for two months before he came around. Joe Mauer never played at AAA and he would have been up a year earlier if he wasn't still working on catcher specific skills. The Twins have had their share of Rookie of the Year winners but it has been a while. 

Byron Buxton came up, couldn't hit the ball with a boat oar and spent the next two seasons bouncing between the majors and minors. Some people thought the Twins had permanently ruined him by bringing him up too early. They did burn a lot of his service time on seasons where he wasn't particularly good. In the end he spent over 100 games in AAA. I wonder if it would have gone differently if he had done it all in one stretch instead of spread over 4 seasons.

10 hours ago, chpettit19 said:

I'm not. But I view the team differently than you. I don't view Bader as a "significant improvement" like you've said he is. I see him as, at best, a marginal improvement. Just like Paddack, Vazquez, and Castro are marginal improvements on what cheaper players can do.

Why does Willi Castro get lumped in with Bader, Paddack and Vazquez? Castro has been a very good contributor as a Twin for a very cheap price. If he's a "marginal improvement" then I'll take all the marginal improving I can get.

[nicksaviking]

7 hours ago, twinstalker said:

LOL.  270 comments on this guy.  It's fine bringing him in, but if you knew a few days ago the Twins had $10 million to spend, I'm wondering how you would actually spend it.  Honestly, Bader shouldn't get more than 250 PAs, but the problem is you know he will.

Bader's last "good" year was 2021 when he hit like average Kepler.  It would be a fluke if he put up those kind of numbers for the Twins, less a fluke if the Twins only really played him vs lhp.

10M doesn't typically get you good baseball players anymore. I wouldn't have spent it just to spend it.

I'm fine with the reliever though. He looks like a worthy addition.

 

[tony&rodney]

4 minutes ago, Brock Beauchamp said:

If Chourio hadn't signed that contract, he wouldn't have opened the season on the roster.

And Chourio had no flaws in his game, literally the *only* concern was his age. Rodriguez has piles of questions around him:

1. Is he actually a CF?
2. Will his swing-and-miss kill him against MLB pitching?
3. Is he too passive?

You're comparing basically flawless prospects in Chourio and Mauer to a guy with real questions and real flaws. Rodriguez is a good prospect who will likely play a role on an MLB team. But whereas Mauer and Chourio's success was basically guaranteed by the time they were 20 years old, Rodriguez still has question marks around him and less than 200 PAs in the upper minors to quell those questions.

Ok. It is because of the contract.

Using those two names was a red flag for you and thus you have ignored my main point. Forget Chourio and Mauer. Jackson Merrill is a close comp. That doesn't change the calculus that it takes an injury for the Twins to consider a rookie. 

It is getting to where I'm sounding like Emmanuel Rodriguez is all that can save the Twins from a .500 season here. The guy is young, has had numerous unrelated injuries, and has flaws in his game as does every player in baseball. He also has a ceiling worth looking at and needs an opportunity to play. 

You want Rodriguez to prove himself in the minor leagues and are focused on his weaknesses. I'm ready to see him at Target Field and am focused on his skills and strengths. We are not going to agree, which is fine. Its all good and will play out according to management's plan. Ultimately our thoughts are worthless on this. I'm retired and no longer make any money working in baseball. Just a fan now.

[chpettit19]

2 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

Why does Willi Castro get lumped in with Bader, Paddack and Vazquez? Castro has been a very good contributor as a Twin for a very cheap price. If he's a "marginal improvement" then I'll take all the marginal improving I can get.

He's a league average hitter who doesn't field all that well at any position. He had been "very cheap," but now he's making over 6 million. He's not useless. Just like Bader, Paddack, and Vazquez aren't useless. But their contributions can be filled by significantly cheaper assets. Or they should be able to be filled by significantly cheaper assets.

Willi's contributions are really that they feel comfortable moving him all around the field. Which allows them to do the things some of us dislike in platooning like mad and trying to hit the perfect matchup decisions every night. You say he can't play CF which is why they need Bader. I don't think anyone wants him at SS for much run at all. I appreciate his utility, but it's only as valuable to the Twins as it is because of their roster management strategies. Being a league average bat that can't defend the premium positions is something, but nothing special. When you have to spend another 6 million on a guy to cover for your super utility guy because he can't actually field multiple of the positions you want him to well then he's not all that super, in my opinion.

If he hit to a 110+ OPS+ and played questionable defense all over that'd be one thing. But he doesn't. His bat and glove are both easily replaceable.

[tony&rodney]

14 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

Byron Buxton came up, couldn't hit the ball with a boat oar and spent the next two seasons bouncing between the majors and minors. Some people thought the Twins had permanently ruined him by bringing him up too early. They did burn a lot of his service time on seasons where he wasn't particularly good. In the end he spent over 100 games in AAA. I wonder if it would have gone differently if he had done it all in one stretch instead of spread over 4 seasons.

Why does Willi Castro get lumped in with Bader, Paddack and Vazquez? Castro has been a very good contributor as a Twin for a very cheap price. If he's a "marginal improvement" then I'll take all the marginal improving I can get.

I think Byron would have liked the Twins to allow him to work through his problems. The injuries were tough and were a definite factor in his career. Whatever happened though you can be sure that Buxton is pretty happy that baseball has turned out well for him. I doubt he expected to make $100 million playing baseball when he was a kid. 

[Riverbrian]

13 minutes ago, tony&rodney said:

Ok. It is because of the contract.

Using those two names was a red flag for you and thus you have ignored my main point. Forget Chourio and Mauer. Jackson Merrill is a close comp. That doesn't change the calculus that it takes an injury for the Twins to consider a rookie. 

It is getting to where I'm sounding like Emmanuel Rodriguez is all that can save the Twins from a .500 season here. The guy is young, has had numerous unrelated injuries, and has flaws in his game as does every player in baseball. He also has a ceiling worth looking at and needs an opportunity to play. 

You want Rodriguez to prove himself in the minor leagues and are focused on his weaknesses. I'm ready to see him at Target Field and am focused on his skills and strengths. We are not going to agree, which is fine. Its all good and will play out according to management's plan. Ultimately our thoughts are worthless on this. I'm retired and no longer make any money working in baseball. Just a fan now.

I can see the logic in letting Emma do some time in the minors. Injuries will provide a spot for him eventually. Will he stay when he gets his moment is another question of course. You are going to need some players in AAA for call up during the season. 

However... Yeah... I'm with ya on a big picture scale.

With some it's almost like... the prospect or pre-arb player has to produce over .800 OPS to be worth consideration while the vet costing 6 million is OK with a .650 

If Emma in his first year just does exactly what will Harrison Bader provide. You get the same production for 5 and half million less. You have given Emma experience that can be applied to 2026 while Bader is nowhere to be found in 2026 because he is shopping for work with another team next year. 

 

[JD-TWINS]

11 hours ago, nicksaviking said:

But Bader can't hit, so it's the same difference. Except with Lee and Julien, there is a possibility that they actually will hit. Or Keaschall or E-Rod or Martin or which ever of the cheap, optionable internal guys they want to try.

Gotta have a back-up option in CF is the point because Castro might not be a guy that’s available!

I do not like Harrison Bader.

E-rod/Martin/Keaschall cannot play CF at the level that Bader supposedly can. If Team has a need for 70 starts in CF, they need an option…..similar to Michael Taylor approach.

I hope Julien or Lee or Keaschall tears the cover off the ball and Castro is available in OF! 

9 hours ago, nicksaviking said:

This is just obstinate. Willfully and stubbornly.

The Twins ills are with the offense. I can only assume you haven't watched or listened to a game in the last two years, because this is very, very clear. So yes, they 100% should be prioritizing fixing the offense. This only hurts that effort.

It was certainly what sunk them from August 15 - Sept 30 of ‘24!! I agree that consistent offense will overshadow occasional defensive lapses. Gotta play generally sound defense. Yankees showed in Playofffs that lack of defense can be tough to overcome in a short series.

[DJL44]

8 minutes ago, chpettit19 said:

He's a league average hitter who doesn't field all that well at any position. He had been "very cheap," but now he's making over 6 million. He's not useless. Just like Bader, Paddack, and Vazquez aren't useless. But their contributions can be filled by significantly cheaper assets. Or they should be able to be filled by significantly cheaper assets.

Willi's contributions are really that they feel comfortable moving him all around the field. Which allows them to do the things some of us dislike in platooning like mad and trying to hit the perfect matchup decisions every night. You say he can't play CF which is why they need Bader. I don't think anyone wants him at SS for much run at all. I appreciate his utility, but it's only as valuable to the Twins as it is because of their roster management strategies. Being a league average bat that can't defend the premium positions is something, but nothing special. When you have to spend another 6 million on a guy to cover for your super utility guy because he can't actually field multiple of the positions you want him to well then he's not all that super, in my opinion.

If he hit to a 110+ OPS+ and played questionable defense all over that'd be one thing. But he doesn't. His bat and glove are both easily replaceable.

He's the best value free agent signing this front office has made. 2 WAR players for this low of a price are not easy to find. The minor leagues are not full of 2 WAR players, they're mostly full of negative WAR players.

Larnach, Miranda and even Brooks Lee also look like "league average bats who can't defend the premium positions". Is it time to think about trading them? After all, they're only "marginal improvements" over what you can get in the minors.

[DJL44]

9 hours ago, nicksaviking said:

Because Castro is no longer the Buxton replacement/4th outfielder, so instead he'll regularly be manning whatever infield position they stick him at this year, which will be a road block Keaschell has between him and getting called up.

Keaschall's production in Double-A last season is the roadblock to him getting called up. An 830 OPS in AA shows he's not ready yet. He's not even ready for AAA.

[Riverbrian]

15 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

Larnach, Miranda and even Brooks Lee also look like "league average bats who can't defend the premium positions". Is it time to think about trading them? After all, they're only "marginal improvements" over what you can get in the minors.

None of the three players that you listed are making 6.25 million this year. That is Chia Pet's point. 

Chia Pet would rather not spend 20 million dollars of money on a group of players who produce a low bar that can be at least matched by a Pre-Arb player making the minimum. He'd rather combine that money into a single better player that actually moves the needle. 

Larnach, Miranda and Lee will be back with the club next year. Larnach, Miranda and Lee are part of the future... they and others are the key to developing a team that will not require 6 million spent on the Harrison Bader look alike in 2026. 

[chpettit19]

1 minute ago, DJL44 said:

He's the best value free agent signing this front office has made. 2 WAR players for this low of a price are not easy to find. The minor leagues are not full of 2 WAR players, they're mostly full of negative WAR players.

Larnach, Miranda and even Brooks Lee also look like "league average bats who can't defend the premium positions". Is it time to think about trading them? After all, they're only "marginal improvements" over what you can get in the minors.

Considering their track record of "value free agent signings" that isn't that large of an endorsement. And he has been very useful compared to his cost. I don't deny that. But his cost has gone up. Castro is actually an example of what we're talking about. He wasn't viewed as a 2 WAR player when they picked him up on a non-40-man roster contract. He signed a minor league deal and wasn't expected to play for the Twins. The boards around here weren't impressed at all. Were you claiming then that he'd be a 2 WAR player so they should give him a shot or were you saying the same thing you're saying now and advocating for a Harrison Bader or Kyle Farmer or Manuel Margot or Joey Gallo to take his place because "the minors are not full of 2 WAR players?" He was one of the young players we're talking about giving a shot to because they may be at least as good as the bad to average vets they keep bringing in. He's literally the example for letting the young guys give it a go.

I'd trade Lee today. Would've traded him last year. I've long been one of the lower posters on Lee. And Larnach and Miranda have both put up OPS+ numbers over 110. Miranda on multiple occasions. Castro has gone 105 and 102. That's a bad comparison since those 2 literally fit what I said about Castro not hitting well enough.

[tony&rodney]

16 minutes ago, Riverbrian said:

I can see the logic in letting Emma do some time in the minors. Injuries will provide a spot for him eventually. Will he stay when he gets his moment is another question of course. You are going to need some players in AAA for call up during the season. 

However... Yeah... I'm with ya on a big picture scale.

With some it's almost like... the prospect or pre-arb player has to produce over .800 OPS to be worth consideration while the vet costing 6 million is OK with a .650 

If Emma in his first year just does exactly what will Harrison Bader provide. You get the same production for 5 and half million less. You have given Emma experience that can be applied to 2026 while Bader is nowhere to be found in 2026 because he is shopping for work with another team next year. 

 

This is really the complaint/viewpoint opposed to signing Bader. Bader plays great defense, runs the bases well, and can hit a home run. Your point about OPS is right on, but Bader is more capable of putting up a .450 OPS than a .800 OPS at this point of his career. Unless .... unless ..... unless Bader has turned the corner and will pop 25 HR, steal 25 bases, hit .280, play flawless defense, and begin to have the career he once was forecast to reach. If.

Bader is on the team until October and I hope he does well.

[chpettit19]

13 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

Keaschall's production in Double-A last season is the roadblock to him getting called up. An 830 OPS in AA shows he's not ready yet. He's not even ready for AAA.

Jackson Chourio and Jackson Merrill both had lower OPS numbers in AA and skipped (or essentially skipped in Chourio's case) AAA and went straight to the majors. Is 1.100 enough to show Emma is ready?

If you don't like those 2 comps, how about Michael Harris II who had an .878 OPS in 43 AA games before jumping straight to the majors? Slightly better than Keaschall, but nothing crazy. He'd played 197 total minor league games before debuting. Emma has played 230. Keaschall is at 133 already.