Buster Posey confirms shift in defensive alignment for SF Giants

The outfield defense will have a new look following the addition of Harrison Bader. Buster Posey confirmed to Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area that Bader will take over in center field, moving Jung Hoo Lee to right field.

Buster Posey confirms shift in defensive alignment for SF Giants

On Friday, the Giants finalized Bader’s two-year deal. To create space on the 40-man roster, Kai-Wei Teng was shipped to the Houston Astros.

When the offseason began, Posey highlighted outfield defense as one of the priorities to address. Regardless of the defensive metric you consume, their outfield defense was one of the worst in baseball. 

That unit tallied -18 Outs Above Average (OAA), which was the worse mark in baseball. Jung Hoo Lee and Heliot Ramos contributed to these poor marks.

Last season, Lee recorded -18 Defensive Runs Saved (DRS), -5 OAA, and -2 Fielding Run Value (FRV). In fairness to Lee, his defense looked competent early in the year. It seemed like he was dealing with fatigue later in the year, leading to worse defensive numbers. 

One of my qualms with Bob Melvin was that he leaned too much on his everyday players. Bench players would go games without making an appearance. That said, Melvin did not have too many bench players to leverage, especially in the outfield.

Lee is still an elite runner with a strong arm. On paper, he has the qualities to become a capable outfield glove.

With Bader, the Giants are getting one of the best defensive outfielders since he made his debut with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2017. In that time, he has put 67 DRS, 77 OAA, and 73 FRV. He is near the top of all three categories among position players while earning a Gold Glove Award in 2021.

Outfield defense was a critical roster flaw for the Giants last year. Adding Bader and moving Lee to right field should result in an improved defensive alignment.