Aug 1, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Harrison Bader talks with his teammates during batting practice at Citizens Bank Park. (Grace Del Pizzo/On Pattison)
If the Phillies don't ultimately re-sign center fielder Harrison Bader in free agency, they won't receive anything in return when he departs.
Because Bader was traded during the 2025 season, the Phillies cannot extend a qualifying offer to him. He would have needed to spend the entire year with the Phillies — or Minnesota Twins — to be eligible to be saddled with a QO this offseason.
This is all relevant to consider now that Bader has declined his half of a $10 million mutual option for 2026, triggering a $3 million buyout that he's owed and allowing him to test the open market. Essentially, if Bader leaves, the Phillies will be left empty-handed.
Compare this to Kyle Schwarber and Ranger Suárez, who the Phillies will certainly extend qualifying offers to. Both will obviously decline the QO, setting the Phillies up to receive a compensatory pick after the fourth round of the 2026 MLB Draft if either signs with another team in free agency. That's not much considering the quality of those two players, but it's not nothing.
Harrison Bader to @TyDaubert on his time with the Phillies and future as he heads to free agency
(Via @TimKellySports) pic.twitter.com/8ZMm3bJoUE
Even if Bader had been eligible for a qualifying offer, it's fair to wonder if the Phillies would have given one to him. He's a tremendous defender, hit .305 after the Phillies acquired him in late July and provided an edge to the team. But the qualifying offer is worth $22.025 million. If Schwarber or Suárez were to accept that — they won't — so be it. For as well as Bader played, he's probably looking at making about that total sum of money over two years as a free agent. So there's a chance if offered, Bader would have accepted the QO. That would be an uncomfortable amount of money to guarantee him for one season.
In any event, Bader wasn't eligible to receive a qualifying offer, and his future in Philadelphia is now in flux. The 31-year-old will likely get at least a two-year deal in free agency, and given the lack of quality center fielders in the sport, a third-year option or even a guaranteed third season isn't out of the question. Whether the Phillies — who have next to no certainty in their outfield moving forward — would be willing to go that far to bring Bader back remains to be seen.
