The Philadelphia Phillies acquired outfielder Harrison Bader for two minor leaguers Thursday, their second deal with the Minnesota Twins in two days after landing closer Jhoan Duran.
The 31-year-old Bader, a 2021 Gold Glove winner, remains a strong defender at all three outfield spots and has 12 home runs, 38 RBIs and a .778 OPS in 96 games. Bader adds another bat to an outfield that has struggled to put up big offensive numbers. He also has postseason experience, playing in five postseason series with the Cardinals, Yankees and Mets with a .809 OPS and five career homers.
The right-handed hitting Bader could fall into a platoon with left-handers Brandon Marsh in center or Max Kepler in left. For his career, Bader is better against left-handed pitchers, but he has hit .266/.347/.432 against righties this season in 219 plate appearances.
Nick Castellanos’ glove is a weak point in the Phillies’ outfield, as well; having Bader’s high-quality defense plugged into the outfield could help take some of the pressure off of Castellanos.
The Phillies are sending minor league outfielder Hendry Mendez and right-hander Geremy Villoria to the Twins for Bader. ESPN was first to report on the deal.
The Phillies acquired Duran to round out the bullpen a day earlier. He has 16 saves and a 2.01 ERA in 49 appearances this season, striking out 53 in 49 1/3 innings. That deal cost the win-now Phillies a stronger pair of prospects in catcher Eduardo Tait and right-hander Mick Abel.
Philadelphia is battling the New York Mets for the NL East title. The Phillies won the division last year before they were eliminated by the Mets in their NL Division Series.
Right-hander Brett de Geus was designated for assignment by Philadelphia to make room for Bader on the 40-man roster.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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