Can Harrison Bader’s presence ignite the Yankees’ offense upon his return?

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The addition of Harrison Bader as a regular in center field strengthens a Yankees squad that has struggled both offensively and defensively for much of the year. The team activated him on Tuesday and he is ready to start this season.

The Yankees made the move a day after putting Aaron Judge, their outfielder, and the current AL MVP, on the injured list with a hip issue.

“I’m just really excited to be back — there’s always a job to be done,” Bader said.

After making his return from another IL in the summer, Harrison Bader joined the Yankees, batting .217/.245/.283 in 14 regular season games. But in the post-season, the Yankees fans came to know his real worth. Harrison Bader only had 35 at-bats in the playoffs, but he slashed .333/.429/.833 with five home runs. His career slash line is .245/.317/.405 in 1764 regular season at-bats (97 wRC+).

Harrison Bader to the rescue of the Yankees

For the majority of the year, it appeared as though the Yankees would make adjustments to their outfield lineup upon Harrison Bader’s return. Any such decision, though, would have to wait for around a week since Aaron Judge is now on the injured list with a hip injury. If Judge does return early next week, the Yankees will have to figure out how to distribute playing time in the center of the field.

It’s likely that Harrison Bader and Judge will take turns playing in center and right field. The Yankees will have to rotate Aaron Hicks, Oswaldo Cabrera, Jake Bauers, and Willie Calhoun in left field and at the DH spot.

Jake Bauers was recently called up to the 40-man roster from Triple-A Scranton, where he was off to a fantastic start, but the other four have struggled in the Bronx. Hicks has had a lot of trouble at the bat, yet he is under contract until the 2025 season despite this. Calhoun has exhausted his options in the minors after posting a .220/.250/.244 batting lines in 44 plate appearances.

Harrison Bader was out with a strained left oblique and was placed on the disabled list to begin the season. On March 8, he suffered an injury while playing in a spring training game against the St. Louis Cardinals, the club he had previously played for.

“I think the biggest thing for him, really, over the last, even going back before the rehab in three, four weeks, is that he’s felt really good,” manager Aaron Boone said Tuesday. “It’s just like getting over those final hurdles, which are almost mental hurdles when you’re coming back. From a confidence standpoint, he’s been there for several days now.”

Harrison Bader is a gem

The Cardinals acquired Harrison Bader at this summer’s trade deadline after he struggled with heel issues throughout 2022. He got into 14 games with the Yankees during the regular season, reaching base 12 times and getting 10 hits in 46 at-bats.

Harrison Bader, a veteran of the sport, was awarded a Gold Glove in 2021. He played with the Cardinals and Yankees over a combined 537 games, hitting .245 with 52 homers and 177 RBIs.

The central fielder told that his recovery was not aided by the fact that the Yankees had lost four in a row and seven of the previous nine games.

“That can never be a part of the equation,” Bader said. “It’s easy to kind of fall into that, but there’s never any pressure from the Yankees on their side to push anything along. And the same on my side. I know what I have to feel to be effective for this team to help them win. And that doesn’t involve pushing the timeline up in any way. So it was a mutual decision, and obviously, precautionary measures were taken at all times to make sure that we can get back to a point where we’re not prolonging the rehab process.”

With his impending free agency, Harrison Bader’s eventual return is also something to keep an eye on. His future earning potential and prospects in the coming free-agent market will depend much on how well he plays and maintains his fitness over the next five months. Harrison Bader, who will soon be 30, is widely considered one of the top center fielders available this offseason among fellow veterans Cody Bellinger and Enrique Hernandez.

This season, though, Hernandez has mostly served as an infielder for Boston due to the injuries of the team’s other players. To make up for his scoring dry spell in 2021 and ’22, Bellinger will need more than a hot start with the Cubs thus far. After Harrison Bader recovers from his illness, he will contribute to the development of that market.

The Yankees moved Franchy Cordero to Triple-A again on Tuesday. After being brought up on Monday to replace Aaron Judge (hip), he was sent down to SWB now because Harrison Bader has returned. Cordero has hit four home runs in 18 games this season, but he has just a .578 OPS and a 20:2 K: BB.

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