Yankees Place Harrison Bader On Waivers

The Yankees have placed center fielder Harrison Bader on waivers, reports Erik Boland of Newsday (Twitter link). As is the case with the Angels’ series of waiver placements, New York’s hope is that another team will claim the remaining salary on a player who was headed to free agency in a couple months.

To be clear, these are irrevocable waivers — either of the outright or release variety. The previous system of August waiver trades — where a team could rescind a waiver placement if another club made a claim and the two sides didn’t work out a trade — was done away with in 2019. Whichever team with the highest waiver priority as of Thursday morning that places a claim will get Bader while taking on the remainder of his arbitration salary. The Yankees won’t receive any compensation besides the salary relief. In the unlikely event that he goes unclaimed, he’d have the ability to become a free agent while retaining his remaining salary.

It’s almost certainly the end of Bader’s year-plus long tenure in the Bronx. New York acquired him at last summer’s deadline in a surprising one-for-one swap that sent Jordan Montgomery to St. Louis. Both players had a season and a half of remaining arbitration control at the time, making it a rather straightforward swap of veterans among contending clubs to address positions of need.

The deal worked out better for St. Louis, as Montgomery has stayed healthy and performed at an upper mid-rotation level since leaving New York. Bader played well at times for the Yankees — headlined by his five homers in nine postseason games last October — but continued dealing with various injury concerns that have plagued him throughout his career.

More to come.