Harrison Bader didn’t expect to be traded, so when he received a call from Cardinals team president of baseball operations John Mozeliak on August 2 informing him that he was headed to the New York Yankees, he had to “pivot and react” as he was rehabbing from an injury that had kept him off the field the previous five weeks.
“I think a lot of the level of surprise we feel as athletes come from lack of planning and preparation, so I was surprised because I wasn’t prepared for it,” Bader said Tuesday, speaking to the media while rehabbing with the Double-A Somerset Patriots. “We also pivot and react and adjust, that’s part of the nature of the game, so I did just that.”
Bader had plantar fasciitis that he said developed into a bone edema – a buildup of fluid in the bone marrow – because of the stress he was putting on his foot and trying to play through it, and even though he said there’s “discomfort,” that, he said, is relative to his other foot, and it’s not something that will hold him back.
His last MLB game was almost three months ago, but Tuesday marks his second day rehabbing, and he’s hopeful he won’t need long before he’s in the Bronx.
“Everything is healthy and feels good, and I am 100 percent ready to compete and help this team win ball games,” he said. “I feel very confident about where I’m at physically, and (the Yankees) do a really good job of planning things and having a schedule, so I’m sure we’ll have conversations and the plan will go accordingly – but pinstripes in the Bronx is in my very near future.”
He hasn’t played a game for the Yankees yet, and even just one for the Patriots, but he’s already loving the Yankees organization.
“What I’ve experienced the past couple months couldn’t have been more positive,” Bader said. “I have some familiar faces in the Yankees locker room and we have a great team competing for the World Series, and that’s all you can ask for in a trade. Things can go sideways, but to be with such an incredible organization with the history of the Yankees is an honor. I know they did their homework on me and my game.”
Bader grew up in Westchester County as a Yankees fan, so he knows the history and the culture – and while he’s excited to be in pinstripes, he’s not going to let emotion override his job.
“It means a lot, no doubt about it. I won’t hide the fact I grew up in New York and was raised a Yankees fan, but there’s a job to do every day, he said. “It’s about taking the emotion out of it, so as thrilled as I am, that doesn’t take away from our job to win games. I’m just looking forward to adding to that winning culture and hopefully making history.”
Nor, he said, will he worry about what’s going on with Jordan Montgomery, who has been dominant since the Yankees dealt him to the Cardinals to get Bader in a deal some still question heavily.
“I pay attention to one clubhouse, the one I’m in,” he said. “You wish everybody the best, and a lot of people hope they remain with their homegrown organization, but I’m going to focus on what we have to do to get into the playoffs and make a run at the World Series.”
So what will Bader bring to the Yankees? They’ll get a guy who can steal some bases – he credited the universal DH, and not having a pitcher hitting behind him, as a reason for his uptick this year – and be a premium defender in center field, maybe even the corners if he gets the reps.
They’ll also get a guy who wants the fan base to know he gives 100 percent to every task every day.
“The level of attention I try to put into being a winning player on both sides of the ball is what fans can expect,” he said. “A lot of the things you can’t put in a box score…I try to expose my competition as much as possible.”
And, he said, they’re getting a bred winner.
“The parks and opposition might be different and that might take some getting used to, but it’s the same approach and level of preparation.
They’re getting a winning player with a winning mentality,” Bader said. “Regardless of the uniform you’re playing the same game, but in St, Louis, you learn how to win. We didn’t win a championship, but we had division titles and a lot of playoff experience; you learn how to win there, and how to do it multiple ways. There’s not one singular part of everyone’s game that will always be there, so learning how to adjust is huge.”
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