The San Francisco Giants are quietly eager to bring in star-level talent to the Bay.
They tried last year with Aaron Judge and Carlos Correa, and they are at it again with Shohei Ohtani.
That doesn’t mean they aren’t doing their homework on the mid-tier of free agents, too.
Earlier on Thursday, MLB insider Jon Morosi had detailed that the Giants (and the San Diego Padres) were after a quality center fielder, with Harrison Bader and Jung-Hoo Lee as potential options.
Giants analyst Jeff Young voiced his opinion about the two players.
“Harrison Bader (along with Jung-Hoo Lee) is the type of strong defensive outfielder the Giants have been seeking. That said, there isn’t much in his recent offensive profile to suggest much upside with the bat. He does have a low strikeout rate and good speed…” he tweeted.
Harrison Bader (along with Jung-Hoo Lee) is the type of strong defensive outfielder the Giants have been seeking. That said, there isn’t much in his recent offensive profile to suggest much upside with the bat. He does have a low strikeout rate and good speed… https://t.co/LUW9J5POtB
— Jeff Young (@BaseballJeff1) December 7, 2023
Both Bader and Lee are very good fielders with modest pop and solid speed.
At this point, however, we would call Lee’s ceiling much higher than Bader’s.
His lowest batting average in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) is .318, achieved this season, and his strikeout rate was 5.9 percent this year.
It’s important to remember that the KBO is probably closer to Double-A in talent than the majors or even Triple-A.
Bader’s career batting average is .243, with a 92 wRC+ (100 is league-average performance).
The Giants are likely aiming at Ohtani, but they are also prioritizing a center fielder.
Between the two, they probably prefer Lee but Bader could be a fit, too, depending on the market dynamics.
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