5 upcoming NY Mets free agents in for a rude awakening this offseason

4) Harrison Bader

There’s no shot Harrison Bader gets another $10.5 million deal in free agency this offseason, right? He started off his season with the Mets so well. He was, for a long time, their most consistent hitter in terms of batting average. He slotted in perfectly as the number nine hitter. He gave them a second leadoff man who they didn’t have to rely on but benefitted from having around.

Of course, the real hook with Bader is his defense which has remained Gold Glove caliber. How valuable is this to have? The Mets believed it was worth quite a lot.

Bader helped his free agent case only by staying healthy this year. However, another year of teetering with a batting average under .250 and an OBP below .300 will have teams looking at more affordable alternatives. Bader, on a lesser deal, will fit on other ball clubs. Maybe even a return to the Mets as a fourth outfielder could work—he just doesn’t need to play as much as he did originally unless he earns it first.

There will always be a job for a player like Bader in baseball. As long as he realizes the reality involves watching a lot of games from the bench, the awakening shouldn’t be too harsh.