Buster Posey doesn't shut the door on Harrison Bader returning to SF Giants

After SF Giants outfielder Harrison Bader crashed his scooter into a fire truck earlier this year when he was supposed to be rehabbing from a foot injury, it seemed pretty fair to assume that Bader’s time as a Giant was in effect over.

That may not be the case, though. President of baseball operations Buster Posey was recently interviewed by Bay Area sports reporter Tim Kawakami and when he was asked about the Bader situation and whether he has a future with the team, Posey said the following:

“As you alluded to, there’s some of this that’s still back and forth with our legal [department] and the Players’ Association. But yeah, I mean, he’s under contract. [I] still think that Harrison can be a valuable player for the Giants.”

This is an interesting answer for a number of reasons. On its face, maybe Posey does see Bader as factoring into the team’s plans next year even though he was dreadful in 2026, hitting .170/.198/.358 with five home runs and 14 runs batted in across 30 games. 

Of course, maybe Posey simply has to say something like that at this time due to ongoing legal discussions. If he says that Bader’s time with the Giants is over does that mean the team is still on the hook for the $10.25 million he is owed next season? Maybe the Giants are trying to get that second year voided behind the scenes but Posey is not at liberty to say that.

Giants should go with other options over Harrison Bader in 2027

It is genuinely hard to imagine Bader being on next year’s team, though. The Giants have already had so many young outfielders show promise this year from Drew Gilbert to Jonah Cox and Turner Hill. Plus, there are others knocking on the door down in Triple-A like Parks Harber and Bo Davidson. Most fans want to see the young guys play over a guy like Bader who was bad both on and off the field this season for San Francisco. 

If they can’t void his contract, then it will be tough to get rid of him. No team is going to trade for him unless the Giants pay down a good chunk of his salary and they probably don’t want to release him because then they would still be on the hook for the money he is owed.

It’s just a complicated situation but the Giants have to be smart because in an ideal world Bader is not on the team next year. He would just be blocking younger options and the Giants would be much better off going with a platoon of Gilbert and Cox in center next season over trotting out a 33-year-old Bader who probably wouldn't be warmly embraced by fans.

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