An Unheralded Outfielder Is Carrying The Yankees

(Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)

The New York Yankees finally have Aaron Judge back from a hip injury that required a stint on the injured list.

They have also received enormous contributions from Anthony Rizzo and even from rookie shortstop Anthony Volpe.

However, the one who has been carrying the team offensively ever since he returned from his own ailment (an oblique injury) is outfielder Harrison Bader.

Harrison Bader has been a spark plug this season.

(MLB x @XboxGamePass) pic.twitter.com/BCctGIsmnS

— MLB (@MLB) May 11, 2023

Bader has only played eight games because his left oblique strain was not of the mild variety.

He suffered it in spring training and had to wait to make his season debut.

He was worth the wait, though.

He immediately joined an offense-starved team, started hitting, and hasn’t looked back.

The sample size, of course, is incredibly small but his .429/.448/.893 line, three home runs, seven runs scored, 11 RBI, and 269 wRC+ have been a breath of fresh air for the anemic Yankees offense.

That 269 wRC+ indicates he has been 169 percent better than the league-average hitter.

If you want a more traditional metric, consider his 1.341 OPS.

He also has a nice speed and athleticism element to his game that few players on the Yankees lineup have; and of course, the best part of his game is his elite, Gold Glove-caliber defense.

Bader won’t keep up those kinds of numbers; no one can over the course of a modern 162-game baseball season.

However, it’s nice to know that he is not only fully over his injury, but also capable of carrying his teammates even if it is a small period of time.

He deserves a ton of credit.

The post An Unheralded Outfielder Is Carrying The Yankees appeared first on The Cold Wire.