He doesn’t exactly need to ask directions to find the place. But Harrison Bader hasn’t done more than jog through left field since before Rocco Baldelli became Twins manager.
Twins plan to give Harrison Bader, a Gold Glove winner in center field, work in left
Although Harrison Bader will likely play in center field when Byron Buxton is given a day off, Bader more likely will play in left when the Twins face lefthanded starters.
The Minnesota Star Tribune
February 18, 2025 at 5:38PM
Baldelli wants Bader to reacquaint himself with it.
“We’re going to get him a lot of work in left field, reintegrate him out there where he hasn’t played a ton since college,” the Twins manager said of the Twins free-agent signee.
Bader started two games in left field as a Cardinal during his rookie season of 2017, and two more in St. Louis a year later. Since then, he hasn’t carried a glove anywhere but center field, where he won a Gold Glove in 2021.
Center field is property of Byron Buxton in Minnesota, and though Bader will likely play there when Baldelli gives the former All-Star a day off, he’ll more likely play a corner position when the Twins face lefthanded starters.
One corner in particular.
“At our ballpark, when you’re talking about the corners, [left field] is a much bigger playing surface than right field,” Baldelli pointed out. “So I think putting one of the best outfielders in the game in left field, as opposed to right, makes some sense.”
Sounds OK to Bader. Better than OK, really.
“Yeah, I’m excited, I really am. I haven’t played left field in a long time, but the reason why I have such good reads in center is because coming up, I did play a lot of the corners when I was younger,” he said Monday before his first workout as a Twin. “I’m just excited. I want to put a uniform on, and I want to help this team win. If that’s going to come in left field, then so be it.”
The righthander has a habit of talking to himself — pointedly — that catches the ears of his teammates and coaches.
