Harrison Bader could (should?) be Phillies’ first free agent piece. Questions loom on Alec Bohm and others.

Harrison Bader raised a big question with his play for the Phillies in August and September.

Why was this guy so available?

Bader sure didn’t look like the bargain-basement journeyman type that Phillies fans thought they were getting when Dave Dombrowski acquired him at the trade deadline to be the team’s much-needed right-handed bat. Not only did he bring a rare combination of line-drive power, center field defense, and dugout energy, Bader looked like a guy who should be playing regularly on a contender.

He had the physique. He had the swagger.

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How does a guy like that end up as a big league vagabond?

It made a lot more sense after Game 1 of the NLDS. A hamstring injury relegated Bader to pinch-hitting duty for the final three games of the series, leaving the Phillies once again without the right-handed bat and everyday center fielder they thought they’d acquired at the deadline.

Now, an even bigger question looms. How much should the Phillies be willing to spend on a player who seems like a perfect fit whenever he is on the field, but who has struggled mightily to stay on the field?

Bader declined his $10 million mutual option next season with the Phillies on Tuesday night, allowing the 31-year-old veteran to become a free agent after he logged a career-best .796 OPS in a career-high 501 plate appearances in 2025.The Phillies owe him a $3 million buyout, according to Spotrac. That’s a hefty amount to pay a guy for nothing, especially if you are hoping to re-sign him. It would make a lot more sense to figure out an extension before the free agent signing period opens up on Thursday.

Projecting Bader’s fair market value is easier said than done. He reached 500 plate appearances for the first time in his career this season. Last year, he saw 437 plate appearances but faded badly down the stretch, posting a .513 OPS after the All-Star break.

Injuries have plagued Bader. In 2023, he spent 71 days on the injured list with soft-tissue injuries. In 2022, he missed 85 days with plantar fasciitis. In 2021, he missed 69 days with forearm soreness and a rib fracture.

This is what people mean when they say that the best ability is availability. For his first two months with the Phillies, he looked like the exact player they’d been missing in recent years. That carried right up through the first five innings of Game 1 of the NLDS, when he drove in a run with a sacrifice fly in the second inning and reached base via hit-by-pitch in the fifth. But in the seventh inning, the Phillies were forced to pinch-hit for him when he would have represented the tying run. Nick Castellanos grounded into a double play, and the Dodgers spent much of the rest of the series pitching around Alec Bohm to get to the left-handed Brandon Marsh.

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Would the Phillies have traded for Bader had they known he would be limited to pinch-hitting duties in the last 32 innings of the NLDS? It’s an interesting question. More pertinent: Would Bader be willing to re-sign for somewhere in the neighborhood of two years and $25 million with an opt-out after this season? A deal like that would clearly make sense for the Phillies.

A few other questions to ponder as the Phillies prepare for the offseason free agent and trade markets …

This goes hand-in-hand with another question. Are the Phillies willing to spend $25 million or more over multiple years on someone like Alex Bregman or Pete Alonso in addition to re-signing Kyle Schwarber? If the answer is yes on Bregman, then the Phillies should be looking to deal Bohm for any piece that might help them on a playoff roster.

I think there’s a way we can give both Dombrowski and Ken Rosenthal the benefit of the doubt regarding the latter’s LOL-inducing report that the Phillies had asked the A’s for stud closer Mason Miller in exchange for Bohm last offseason. That is, the Phillies were perfectly content to hang onto Bohm unless the return was astronomical. Astronomical may not even be the right word. The only scenario where it made sense to trade Bohm was one where the Phillies got back a piece that left them equal or better.

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There aren’t a lot of pieces like that in the majors, let alone one that another playoff hopeful is willing to part with. Bohm isn’t a superstar, but he is an average-to-above-average hitter and defender who has averaged nearly 600 plate appearances per season over the last four years. He is an easy guy to take for granted.

If money weren’t a consideration, the obvious move would be to sign Bregman to play third base and trade Bohm for a bullpen piece or two. Then again, an even more obvious move would be to sign Alonso to play first base and move Bryce Harper to the outfield. In which case, Bohm would look perfectly fine playing third base and hitting fifth or sixth or wherever.

My sense is that the answer is yes. I’m mostly asking the question because I don’t think the answer should be that definite. Stott is coming off a postseason in which he went 2-for-13 with four strikeouts and no walks. In eight playoff games over the last two Octobers, he has six total bases and two walks.

Throughout his career, we’ve seen that the Phillies are a totally different team when Stott is hitting. But maybe that’s an argument that the Phillies should be looking for a second baseman who is hitting more often. Stott is two years away from 30 years old and two years away from free agency. The Phillies would be wise to at least inquire about Cardinals second baseman Brendan Donovan, who is already the hitter people keep hoping Stott will become.

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The collective bargaining agreement is up after next season and the tone between players and ownership is as adversarial as it has been in quite some time. The long-term uncertainty is something that could push small and midmarket teams to the sidelines and create some value opportunities for teams that don’t feel as much pressure to keep their books in order.

On the flip side, the threat of future salary-capped seasons could convince big-market teams to spend it while they got it, especially on shorter deals. We don’t know what kind of guidance the commissioner’s office is giving teams. Which means we really can’t project what smart money looks like this offseason.