Armed with new financial flexibility following the trade of OF Luis Robert Jr. to the Mets, White Sox general manager Chris Getz will resume the quest to improve the team’s roster. Getz wouldn’t commit to a certain position as the focus of the funds, but indicated the White Sox desire to be “very active” for the remainder of the offseason.
More Getz: "... That could come in starting pitching, relievers, balancing right-handed vs. left-handed. So we are very open minded and excited in getting to work in being creative and bringing in that talent."
— Scott Merkin (@scottmerkin) January 21, 2026
The White Sox outfield mix looks dangerously thin after the departure of Robert. The team addressed the position on a smaller scale this week, adding Lamonte Wade Jr. on a minor league contract. But the group of Andrew Benintendi, Jarred Kelenic, Everson Pereira, Luisangel Acuna and Derek Hill is the furthest thing from guaranteed production despite high upside. It’s certainly reasonable to assume an outfielder will be among the upcoming White Sox moves, and there’s one popular name I believe the White Sox need to avoid.
According to most free agent lists, Harrison Bader is the top outfield option on the market. Bader, 31, has spent time with a few teams after coming up with the St. Louis Cardinals, and is coming off the best offensive season of his career. Bader started the 2025 season with the Minnesota Twins, where he hit 12 home runs and posted a .778 OPS before a deadline trade to the Phillies. Post-trade, Bader’s numbers got even better. In just 50 games for Philadelphia, he hit .305 and produced an .824 OPS. Overall, Bader finished 2025 with 17 home runs, a career-high .796 OPS, and 124 OPS+.
The White Sox should not be fooled by Bader's 2025 outlier
On the surface, it seems like it may be a breakout season in a contract year for Bader, but digging deeper into his numbers raises some red flags. For the few seasons leading up to this year, Bader’s OPS+ numbers were: 86 in 2024, 69 in 2023, and 85 in 2022. His last above-average offensive season was in 2021, and he posted two other below-average seasons before that. He simply hasn’t been a good hitter for most of his career, and 2025 feels much more like an outlier than a breakout.
Even Bader’s seemingly excellent 2025 looks duller when looking under the hood. His expected batting average was .220, while his actual mark was .277, indicating a large amount of good luck was involved. Aside from his bat speed, most of his metrics were well below average, including exit velocity, chase percentage, and hard hit percentage. His defensive numbers have always been strong, but he’s been a one-dimensional player for the majority of his career.
ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel predicted earlier this offseason that Bader would land a two-year deal worth around $25 million. That’s an average of $12.5 million a season, which would cost more than half of the $20 million the team freed up by trading Robert. With other needs in the rotation and bullpen, it doesn’t seem like the best use of resources to allocate that level of money to a primarily defensive player. They’d be much better off spending on Austin Hays or Michael Conforto, who are not as strong defensively but provide offensive upside for a lower cost.
With the White Sox expected to be active in the final weeks leading up to Spring Training, Chris Getz will need to be smart in his allocation of the team’s resources. Harrison Bader is a trap that Getz should avoid falling into.
Let’s hope he’s able to resist the temptation.