NEW YORK (AP) — Center fielder Harrison Bader and the New York Mets finalized a $10.5 million, one-year contract on Friday.
Bader gets a $9.5 million salary and a $1 million signing bonus, payable within 60 days of the deal’s approval by the commissioner’s office.
A Gold Glove winner with St. Louis in 2021, Bader returns home to New York after spending a little more than a year across town with the Yankees. He was acquired from the Cardinals in an August 2022 trade for pitcher Jordan Montgomery and then claimed off waivers by Cincinnati on Aug. 31 last year.
The 29-year-old Bader batted .232 with seven homers and 40 RBIs during an injury-plagued season with the Yankees and Reds. He had a .622 OPS in 98 games and a career-best 20 stolen bases in 23 attempts.
- He became a free agent in November after completing a $10.4 million, two-year contract he signed with St. Louis. Bader is a .243 career hitter with 59 home runs and a .706 OPS in seven big league seasons with the Cardinals, Yankees and Reds. Injuries have hampered him, but he offers speed and elite defense in center when healthy, along with an .824 career OPS against left-handed pitching.