Harrison Bader Probably Won't Continue to Be an Everyday Player for Minnesota Twins, and That's OK

In each of the past three seasons, the Minnesota Twins have signed a fourth outfielder to a one-year deal. They have needed Byron Buxton insurance in center field, and having a starting-caliber center fielder on the bench has allowed for defensive flexibility late in games. It's also allowed for giving regular rest days to the starters. This has proven to be a shrewd strategy.

In 2023, Michael A. Taylor was a valuable asset. Buxton was limited to 85 games (all at DH), and Taylor found his way into 129 games, accruing 2.0 fWAR while playing great defense. In 2024, Manuel Margot was not a good get, looking cooked while providing negative value across 129 games of his own. But, the fact that Margot saw that much action despite not being good shows how necessary the fourth outfielder has been, even in a season of relative health from Buxton.

Fast-forward to this season, and Harrison Bader has been great. He has contributed on both sides of the ball and has been the second-most valuable Twins position player by WAR, trailing only Buxton. He has gotten there by doing things like this.

He has also played nearly every day (57 of the first 65 games), due not to absences from Buxton, but to Matt Wallner missing a month and a half with a hamstring injury. Despite this, Bader’s playing time may be about to decrease—not because of a failure on his part, but because the Twins have a lot of mouths to feed in the outfield, and a crowded mix for the DH rotation.

Matt Wallner has been one of the Twins' best hitters since making his debut in 2023. He’s a nearly everyday player, sitting only against some tough lefties, and can only play the corner outfield spots or serve as the DH.

Trevor Larnach? Not quite the prodigious masher that Wallner is, but he has also earned his regular playing time, and he, too, is limited to the same positions. Willi Castro, while able to play pretty much everywhere, is a subpar defender everywhere but the corner outfield spots at this stage of his career. Even in the corners, he is average, worth zero Outs Above Average. Kody Clemens, for as long as he remains part of the Twins' plans, will also get a fair number of innings in the outfield. Add Buxton and Bader to the mix, and you have six guys for four positions, including DH.

Further complicating the lineup card for the Twins is the pressing need to score more runs.

With injuries to the starting rotation, the Twins are unlikely to get quite the level of performance they have from their starters, and will need to win in different ways. Through Monday’s off-day, the Twins have averaged just 4.25 runs per game, and that total is buoyed by their offensive outburst over the past week, which has taken them from 24th in baseball up to 15th.

While Bader has hit well thus far in 2025, he has been solidly glove-first in each of the past three seasons, and his expected numbers this year suggest he has been a bit lucky. The Twins' best-hitting lineup against right-handed pitchers will have Bader on the bench in favor of Buxton, Wallner, Larnach, Castro, and Clemens.

Look, Bader will still get plenty of at-bats, and log plenty of innings in the outfield; he just isn’t likely to be an everyday player the rest of the way, unless the injury bug strikes again. Until it does, fans may expect to see him start perhaps two or three times a week, to give the starters a day off or to have a DH day, and then to come into close games late another couple times a week. This may well keep Bader healthy, as well, since he has a lengthy injury history of his own.

The rest of the time, be on the lookout for Castro and either Wallner or Larnach in the corners; the other at DH; and Buxton roaming center. That’s a sign of health, and of the roster construction working the way it was intended heading into the 2025 season. With any luck, that’s how the rest of the season will play out, and it will lead to meaningful games being played in September and into October.