Why The St. Louis Cardinals Should Consider Trading Harrison Bader

Why the St. Louis Cardinals Should Trade Harrison Bader

Harrison Bader this past year had one of his best statistical season’s he’s had in his four years of being in the pros.

Looking at the first three seasons of him being a Cardinals outfielder, he played in a total of 316 games. He had a slash line of .234/.326/.401 and hit 28 home runs, 87 RBI, but this is where it get’s ugly: 282 strikeouts and only 90 walks.

This past season, the Cardinals finally got to see what their former top prospect can do with his bat. So, with saying that, let’s take a look at his stats from this past season.

Bader played in 103 games for the Cardinals, slashing a career-high .267/.324/.460 along with 16 home runs and 50 RBI. He also dropped his strikeout percentage to 21.2, down from 32 percent in 2020, 28.8 in 2019 and 29.3 in 2018.

Now, I know that most of you guys will argue that he’s not here to hit, he brings elite defense. I mean he just won a Gold Glove and probably has one of the highest defensive WARs in baseball.  However, when it comes to competing for the World Series, you need hitting and defense and you may not always get both from Bader.

Although Bader figured it out this year, it’s not like he exactly tore it up offensively. So what if he never reaches his potential with the Cardinals? It’s best for them to trade him at his peak and offer the position to someone who could do both consistently for the St. Louis Cardinals.

So which teams could look into acquiring the center fielder?

Who Should Contact the St. Louis Cardinals About Harrison Bader?

The St. Louis Cardinals have a ton of depth in the outfield which makes Bader easy to move from their perspective. However, it doesn’t mean anything if teams don’t want him. Furthermore, it has to be a team that is in the middle of acquiring talent and looking to get young players.

So, with that being said, who could contact the Cardinals about Bader’s availability?

Texas Rangers

The Texas Rangers have been one of the more aggressive teams in free agency after signing Corey Seager to a massive contract along with both Marcus Semien and Jon Gray. While those signings underscore that they want to compete, they still have one glaring weakness: the outfield.

On their 40-man roster the Texas Rangers have six outfielders. They currently have Adolis Garcia, Kole Calhoun, Willie Calhoun, Leody Taveras, and Eli White.

As you can tell they don’t exactly have a great outfield established. Now, with the MLB and MLBPA having been on hold which might’ve minimized their off-season plans, it doesn’t change the fact that they need an upgrade.

Adding a young outfielder like Harrison Bader would give them speed to cover ground out there with Adolis Garcia. Furthermore, the addition of Bader would be adding a player with high upside that could be a good counterpart to Garcia.

San Diego Padres

The San Diego Padres have been a riser in the league over the past couple seasons and they are now officially a top contender. Last season, things didn’t quite go as planned but that just means they will be motivated to get them that extra boost.

The Padres have done everything right so far, but so far the most noticeable thing about their roster is once again, the lack of talent in the outfield. Now, they do have versatility with Jake Cronenworth and Fernando Tatis Jr., but moving those guys into the outfield can’t be their Plan A.

Adding Bader might not increase their offensive talent, but it definitely would give the Padres a defensive improvement. Bader has always been a elite defender with his ability to cover ground in the outfield.

If they were to trade Bader, they could look to acquire one of the Padres prospects in return and take him away from the Padres who will be a contender right alongside the Cardinals.