The Jordan Montgomery trade must be relitigated one more time. At the deadline, the Yankees shipped the reliable lefty to St. Louis in exchange for center fielder Harrison Bader, who at the time was in a walking boot. Bader wouldn’t play for a full month after being acquired, but once he was on the field, he quickly became a fan favorite, and was one of precious few reliable bats in the postseason.
Grade: B+
2022 Statistics: 14 games, .217/.245/.283, 51 OPS+, 47 wRC+, 1 OAA, -0.1fWAR
2023 Contract Status: Under contract, $5.2 million AAV
I love Harrison Bader, and that personal attachment certainly colored my evaluation of him — that and, if he hadn’t had his incredible playoff run, I might have marked him off as an I for incomplete.