Why the St. Louis Cardinals should consider trading Harrison Bader

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Harrison Bader #48 of the St. Louis Cardinals reacts after hitting a single in the fifth inning against the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Field on September 22, 2021 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by John Fisher/Getty Images) /

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.

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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.