Drew Gilbert's promising development in 2026 likely could have prevented one SF Giants signing

The SF Giants signed Harrison Bader to a two-year deal with the hopes of bolstering outfield defense. In hindsight, that has proven to be a disastrous move on more than one front, including the promising development of Drew Gilbert in 2026.

With Bader, it would have been unwise to expect him to replicate his 2025 numbers on offense. He had a career year, posting a .796 OPS with 17 home runs and 54 RBI in 501 plate appearances split between the Minnesota Twins and Philadelphia Phillies. There were plenty of regression indicators, including a .359 babip.

The Giants had a problematic defense in the outfield last year, and sought to improve that in the offseason. They felt they did so with Bader, who has graded out as one of the best defensive outfielders in baseball since he made his debut with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2017.

SF Giants outfielders has produced comparable value to Harrison Bader

Of course, Bader's time with the Giants might already be over after a scooter accident extended his time on the injured list. As a result of this, they suspended him without pay.

This season is proving that this signing was relatively unnecessary. Drew Gilbert did not have a strong rookie season with San Francisco. He struggled to a .598 OPS in 103 plate appearances while not impacting the ball or demonstrating playable platoon splits. Gilbert looked more like a fringe fourth outfielder.

Over the past few months, the 25-year-old's potential role has morphed from a fringe fourth outfielder to more of a high-usage platoon player. He has settled into a nice role, recording a solid .802 OPS with eight home runs and 35 RBI in 294 plate appearances against right-handed pitching this season. That type of production is going to get his name in the lineup more often than not in those matchups.

Plus, Gilbert has continued to play a quality center field. He did show this last year, but the question was whether he would hit enough to see regular playing time. Gilbert has answered that question while doing more than just treading water defensively. He has been worth 3 Outs Above Average (OAA) and 2 Fielding Run Value (FRV) up the middle.

Gilbert has put up 1.1 fWAR this year. Despite sporadic playing time, Jonah Cox has also put up 0.6 fWAR in center field. That combined 1.7 fWAR surpasses the 1.2 fWAR that Steamer projected for Harrison Bader this year.

This is not to say that the Giants necessarily made a mistake in signing Bader. In hindsight, that certainly has been the case. At the time, they wanted to upgrade outfield defense, and the veteran outfielder had that reputation.

Gilbert has turned out better than they had hoped, and Cox very much had a breakout season in the minors that has carried over into his brief time with the Giants. If this had happened one year earlier, then there would have been no need for the Bader signing. However, baseball does not always work that way.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow