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The Philadelphia Phillies and Minnesota Twins have connected on another MLB trade deadline deal. First, Jhoan Duran went from Minnesota to Philly to be their closer. Then, on Thursday, the Phillies filled a big need in the outfield by picking up Harrison Bader, per ESPN's Jeff Passan.
“The Philadelphia Phillies are finalizing a trade to acquire outfielder Harrison Bader from the Minnesota Twins, sources tell ESPN,” Passan reported.
Matt Gelb of The Athletic reported on the return, “Phillies are sending outfielder Hendry Mendez and righty Geremy Villoria to Twins for Harrison Bader, according to sources.”
Mendez was ranked No. 12 among Phillies' top prospects, according to MLB Pipeline. Villoria won't turn 17 for another two weeks and was not ranked among the Phillies' Top 30. The club had just signed Villoria as an international free agent in January.
Bader signed a one-year deal with the Twins after a disappointing year with the New York Mets. He put together his best offensive season in a few years with a .778 OPS so far. Add that to his elite defensive glove, and he will be a solid addition for Philly.
Bader has been a trade deadline acquisition once before. He was sent to the New York Yankees from the St Louis Cardinals at the 2022 deadline. He was great for the Bombers, slugging five homers in nine games in an otherwise disappointing postseason in The Bronx. The Phillies hope to get a similar performance from him this October.
The Phillies have been looking for help in the outfield for a while. They signed Former Twins outfielder Max Kepler in the offseason and traded for Austin Hays at last year's deadline to help out. They'll take a third shot with Bader, who is the best defender of that group and can play center field.
With Duran and Bader coming over from the Twins, the Phillies have filled two of their biggest needs at the MLB trade deadline. Will they continue to add before 6 p.m. Eastern? Or is the Bader move their last one?
