Harrison Bader's Stats, Metrics, Game Logs, Projections & Rankings

New York Mets outfielders Harrison Bader and Starling Marte are both out of Saturday's lineup. As a result, Tyrone Taylor will play in center field and bat seventh, and DJ Stewart will man right field and bat fifth. Bader has put up a solid .267 AVG during his first month in Queens but will get a breather since he has not registered a hit in his past three games. Marte, who has been off to a great start with a .288 AVG and four home runs, will miss his first game of the season. Both Taylor and Stewart have a tough matchup today as they will face Sonny Gray, who enters Saturday with a dominant 1.04 ERA and 0.87 WHIP, and both will be popular fades in DFS.

Outfielder Harrison Bader is set to serve as the New York Mets' center fielder this year, with Brandon Nimmo shifting to left field, according to manager Carlos Mendoza. Bader will give the Mets an upgrade in center over Nimmo. However, the 29-year-old Bader has had trouble staying healthy and took a step back offensively last year with a .232/.274/.348 slash line with seven homers, 40 RBI and 20 steals in 98 games with the Yankees and Reds. Bader hasn't played in over 100 games since 2021 and will mostly be appealing to fantasy managers for his speed in deeper mixed leagues while hitting near the bottom of the order in New York. Nimmo, meanwhile, will be a strong No. 3 outfielder in fantasy after slashing .274/.363/.466 with 24 homers, 68 RBI and 89 runs in 152 games in 2023 as the Mets' leadoff hitter.

The New York Mets signed free-agent outfielder Harrison Bader to a one-year deal for approximately $10 million, according to a source. The Mets have been looking for help in the outfield this offseason, and Bader should immediately slot in as their primary center fielder in 2024, which will allow Brandon Nimmo to slide over to a corner-outfield spot. The 29-year-old Bader, a former third-round pick by the St. Louis Cardinals in 2015 out of the University of Florida, has become more of a defense-first player. Bader has been known to be a streak hitter at the plate and finished this past season with a .232/.274/.348 slash line, seven home runs, 40 RBI, 20 stolen bases and 44 runs score in 98 games for the New York Yankees and Cincinnati Reds. He can be a decent source of runs scored and stolen bases for fantasy managers, but he's dealt with his fair share of injuries as well, playing in over 100 games just three times in his seven MLB seasons.