Why The St. Louis Cardinals Should Consider Trading Harrison Bader

Harrison Bader #48 of the St. Louis Cardinals reacts after advancing to second base after his RBI single in the seventh inning against David Bote #13 of the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field on September 25, 2021 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Quinn Harris/Getty Images)
Harrison Bader #48 of the St. Louis Cardinals reacts after advancing to second base after his RBI single in the seventh inning against David Bote #13 of the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field on September 25, 2021 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Quinn Harris/Getty Images) /
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St. Louis Cardinals
Harrison Bader #48 of the St. Louis Cardinals reacts after advancing to second base after his RBI single in the seventh inning against David Bote #13 of the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field on September 25, 2021 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Quinn Harris/Getty Images) /

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?