Re-acquire Bader for 26 and beyond?

[Carp4Cy]

Looks like he will become a FA.

On one hand, you may expect him to regress from this great year to his career norms.

OTOH, his career norms are miles ahead of Scott as a hitter. His defense isn't bad either. And we don't exactly have other great options in our OF. We need help from outside and if not Bader, we need to find someone else. And he won't cost Mike Trout money.

[3dender]

No

[Ozziesfan41]

No

[imadangman]

I've tossed out this idea well. He's a RH hitting CF/OF. Seems like an ideal player on this roster. We aren't necessarily looking to contend, but you could find yourself accidentally contending with the right mix of players and this may be one of then. If Walker starts the year in the minors and if there is no Nootbaar, that would be further justification for an argument for Bader being on this roster.

[3dender]

No

To elaborate:

-Obvious career year
-Peak expensiveness
-Wrong side of 30... even more of an issue for speed guys
-Career 97 OPS+
-Everyone, probably including the people who like this idea right now, hated Bader's inconsistent bat while he was here... that hasn't changed

[rage-STL]

It's been fun watching Bader's post Cardinals career thus far. They seem to really love him in Philly; he provided a serious jolt for them after the trade deadline. That Phillies squad will be must see TV come October.

[3dender]

It's been fun watching Bader's post Cardinals career thus far. They seem to really love him in Philly; he provided a serious jolt for them after the trade deadline. That Phillies squad will be must see TV come October.

Yes teams generally love guys when they start their tenures on a hot streak... and then offload him when he gets cold. Happened the same exact way with NYY.

[craviduce]

is the 131wRC+ an outlier? 50 points above his average the last 3 seasons (2022-2024)

Come on people....he gets no where near this season's output again.

Tip the cap to him on a great season. And another cap this offseason when some team overpays him on $$ and years. But don't let it be the Cardinals.

[imadangman]

No

To elaborate:

-Obvious career year
-Peak expensiveness
-Wrong side of 30... even more of an issue for speed guys
-Career 97 OPS+
-Everyone, probably including the people who like this idea right now, hated Bader's inconsistent bat while he was here... that hasn't changed

Probably being the operative word. Don't overlook the context that we are talking about him here in a 4th OF role rather than a starting CF so it really doesn't matter.

Maybe in 2027 then, when it's not fresh off a peak career year. Choosing the right time to bring back Bader (and not a year too early) will be tough, but we can't consider ourselves above discussing such a matter as this will be one of the more pressing issues we face with this club over the next several seasons.

[Jatalk]

We already have Bader caliber outfielders. Don’t need another one. I’m betting on performance decline.

[3dender]

No

To elaborate:

-Obvious career year
-Peak expensiveness
-Wrong side of 30... even more of an issue for speed guys
-Career 97 OPS+
-Everyone, probably including the people who like this idea right now, hated Bader's inconsistent bat while he was here... that hasn't changed

Probably being the operative word. Don't overlook the context that we are talking about him here in a 4th OF role rather than a starting CF so it really doesn't matter.

Maybe in 2027 then, when it's not fresh off a peak career year. Choosing the right time to bring back Bader (and not a year too early) will be tough, but we can't consider ourselves above discussing such a matter as this will be one of the more pressing issues we face with this club over the next several seasons.

4th OF will absolutely not be "one of the more pressing issues" for this team any time soon.

It will actually be one of the least pressing issues for them, behind actually major things like "having 5 capable starters," and "having one of those starters be a genuine TOR guy" and "acquiring 2 hitters who are better than Herrera" and truly basic things like that.

[Ozziesfan41]

He’s been with 6 teams in 9 years according to some who subscribe to the cards talk Tommy Pham theory that makes him a cancer

[imadangman]

No

To elaborate:

-Obvious career year
-Peak expensiveness
-Wrong side of 30... even more of an issue for speed guys
-Career 97 OPS+
-Everyone, probably including the people who like this idea right now, hated Bader's inconsistent bat while he was here... that hasn't changed

Probably being the operative word. Don't overlook the context that we are talking about him here in a 4th OF role rather than a starting CF so it really doesn't matter.

Maybe in 2027 then, when it's not fresh off a peak career year. Choosing the right time to bring back Bader (and not a year too early) will be tough, but we can't consider ourselves above discussing such a matter as this will be one of the more pressing issues we face with this club over the next several seasons.

4th OF will absolutely not be "one of the more pressing issues" for this team any time soon.

It will actually be one of the least pressing issues for them, behind actually major things like "having 5 capable starters," and "having one of those starters be a genuine TOR guy" and "acquiring 2 hitters who are better than Herrera" and truly basic things like that.

It's not just a 4th OF we're talking about. It's a legacy Cardinal player.... and I'll remember to use blue font next time....

[rockondlouie]

Pass

[rightthinker4]

No

[hugeCardfan]

I don't want anything to get in the way of giving Church a shot next year. Bader would do that and Bader really has nowhere to go.