Should the Phillies resign Harrison Bader?

Bader is still on the free-agent market, and apparently still on the Phillies radar. Acquired at the trade deadline, Bader was a late-season spark plug who hit .305 in 50 games and played a solid center field.

Despite having Justin Crawford apparently penciled in at either center or left field, and Brandon Marsh still designated for left field, there could be room for Bader.

In this version of my Behind the Plate column, I will look at the possibilities of Bader coming back, as well as the state of the division’s center field conditions and pitching.

Also, I’ll look back at a former Marian star.

Cutting Bad-er? ... Bader reportedly is seeking a two-to-three-year deal in the vicinity of $20 to $36 million. He turned down a $10 million option.

The 31-year-old easily could retain his spot in center field from last season, and Crawford could slide over to left. In the past few days, the Phillies designated backup outfielder Weston Wilson for assignment, supposedly to free some funds for the J.T. Realmuto $45 million deal.

Marsh is the burning question here.

The 28-year-old rebounded after a slow start, hitting .294 in May, .324 in June, .271 in July, .284 in August, and .338 in September. However, he couldn’t find his stroke in the postseason, struggling to a .077 average.

Marsh ended the season hitting .280, the highest in a Phillies uniform (.288 in half a season after his trade in 2022) with 11 homers and 43 RBIs. His OPS was .342 and his OBP was .748. In comparison, Bader’s OPS was .361, and his OBP was .824 with the Phillies, while his overall numbers were .347 and .796.

The Phillies have tried to move Marsh, but didn’t get the right deal. Under their current plan, Otto Kemp is scheduled to share time with Marsh in left.

Yet, the Phillies should still try and move Marsh and sign Bader. Like Marsh, Bader started slow last season, hitting .254 in April before he rose to .322 in May. He slumped to .194 in June, and then rebounded to .290 in July, .293 in August, and .314 in September. Bader hit. 500 in the postseason.

Bader’s lifetime numbers are .247, .313 OPS and .714 OBP, while Marsh’s numbers are .261, 332, and .748. In terms of power and stolen bases, Bader has 88 homers and 105 steals, and Marsh has 58 and 52. (Bader has played four more years).

The real difference would be utilizing Bader’s speed at the top of the lineup with either Crawford or Trea Turner. Both Bader or Crawford could also hit at the bottom of the order.

Don’t put Nick Castellanos in the mix, as he’ll be ticketed elsewhere soon.

The Vote is In ... On a recent Facebook Times News Lehighton Sports poll, the question was posed as to whether the Phillies should bring back Bader.

An overwhelming 76 percent favored the Phillies bringing Bader back, and 17 percent were against it. Seven percent didn’t care.

Center of Attention ... Bader’s market as a center fielder is dwindling, and spring training is just around the corner.

There were plenty of rumors circulating that the Bronx native could be a center field solution for the Yankees or Mets, where he had short stays.

But the doors appeared to be closed there with the Yankees re-signing of Cody Belinger, and the Mets’ trade for Luis Robert. The Yankees also have to decide what to do with Jasson Dominguez and top prospect Spencer Jones in the outfield.

Bader could still land in Queens as a spot starter, with top prospect Carson Benge currently slated as the current left fielder.

St. Louis, where Bader began his career and won a Gold Glove, as well as Cleveland, are also viable options.

Arms Race ... The Mets pulled off the blockbuster of the spring when they recently acquired starter Freddy Peralta and reliever Tobias Myers. The 29-year-old Peralta gives them a top-of-the-rotation starter who won 17 games last season, and is due just $8 million on a club option before he hits free agency.

Meyers, a former starter, brings flexibility as a long or short reliever.

With Peralta and rising star Norm McLean, the Mets have two bonafide starters, which should lessen the pressures on returning starters David Peterson, Kodai Senga, Clay Holmes, Sean Manaea and possibly rookie Jonah Tong. This may also be the chance to move Holmes back to the bullpen with Devin Williams and Luke Weaver.

With Peralta, Robert Jr. and Bo Bichette, the Mets suddenly are back in the hunt for the NL East. They still may add a pitcher before the season gets underway.

Yet, Mets’ fans have to be worried about Peralta being a rental this season, and not signing him to a long-term deal. There also is a likely strike looming.

Former Astro and free agent Framber Valdez had been linked to the Mets, but he wants a long-term deal. Former Diamondback Zac Gallen is also still on the market.

Gallen is on Atlanta’s radar, and the Braves have a returning top end staff of Chris Sale, Spencer Strider and Spencer Schwellenbach to challenge the Phillies and Mets top three starters.

Looking at the Mets’ moves, do the Phillies need to add a free-agent arm? Max Scherzer was previously mentioned as an option, but there’s the question about how much the 41-year-old has left.

Currently, the Phillies would open with Aaron Nola, Jesus Luzardo, Cristopher Sanchez and Taijuan Walker. There isn’t a timetable for Zack Wheeler’s return.

Andrew Painter is expected to go north, but can he rebound after a lackluster 5-6, 5.40, 1.547 WHIP season at Lehigh Valley last year? He did strike out 111 in 106 innings with the Pigs.

The Phillies know Gallen well. The 30-year-old is 4-1 with a 2.52 ERA in seven regular-season appearances against them, but was 0-2 with a 7.36 ERA in the 2023 postseason against the Phils.

Forty-two year-old Justin Verlander is also out there, and is drawing interest from the Orioles and Braves as an insurance arm.

Readers Write

Take the Bad-er

Dear Jeff,

I would love to see the Phillies sign Bader as he fits with the idea of the Philly hard-nosed players of the past.

Since we didn’t get Bichette, there’s probably some money they can use. They have not been able to unload Casty (Castellanos), so we may be stuck with his salary. But Bader can hit and play a good outfield, so it would be a decent signing.

Melissa Hager

Lehighton

Editor’s Note: Thanks as always for your feedback, Melissa!

Scrapbook ... Each column, I will peel back the pages to recall the career of a former standout.

Dante Salerno had a stellar career in the middle infield at Marian, where he was the 2015 Times News Player of the Year. He hit .478 as a junior, and helped the Colts to the Schuylkill League Division 3 crown.

Salerno began his collegiate career as an outfielder and first baseman at Virginia-Wise of the Mountain East Conference in 2017, when he hit .187 in 33 games.

He came back home the following year, enrolling at Penn State Berks, where he had three productive seasons.

In 2018, Salerno hit .451 with 19 stolen bases and an OPS of 1.090. The following season, Salerno hit .351 with 15 stolen bases.

But his senior year was cut short due to a bout of coronavirus. He started the year hitting a blistering .515 in nine games before he was sidelined.

Granted an extra season, Salerno moved to Misericordia and hit .318 with 15 steals as an outfielder in 40 games.

Overall, Salerno appeared in 155 games, hit .349, swiped 59 steals and had an overall .899 OPS in his collegiate career.

Your thoughts are always welcomed and will be published; email them to tnsports@tnonline.com