SAN FRANCISCO — When Harrison Bader would come to Oracle Park as an opponent, he would head out to center field and watch as balls took random bounces off the bricks and walls in Triples Alley. Bader wouldn’t have to worry much about learning the intricacies, knowing that he would be gone in three or four days. 

“Now, I don’t really have the luxury,” he said on a Zoom call Friday night. “I’m definitely going to map out that field as well as I can.”

The Giants know that Bader will quickly get up to speed defensively. A former Gold Glove Award winner, he’ll start in center field, and he’s being counted on to help a bad outfield defense take massive steps in 2026.

Buster Posey confirmed that Harrison Bader will play center field. Tony Vitello and Zack Minasian talked to Jung Hoo Lee, who will move to right field. Posey said he took it well and may still get some reps in CF at times.

— Alex Pavlovic (@PavlovicNBCS) January 30, 2026

Bader could be headed for the bottom third of the lineup, but the Giants certainly don’t view him as a glove-only player. The 31-year-old hit a career-high 17 homers last season and posted a 122 wRC+ easily the highest of his career. On Friday, president of baseball operations Buster Posey said he’s confident there’s “staying power” to the offensive improvements. 

Bader feels the same way, in part because he’s fully healthy after adductor surgery in 2023, and in part because he feels his approach has come a long way after nine years in the big leagues. 

“I think I just kind of ran with the feel,” he said of last season’s breakthrough. “We also were just doing really good things last year in terms of just understanding what the pitcher is trying to do to us and identifying what his strong suits are and making that our Plan A. I have this old-school coach (from college at the University of Florida) who I can hear his voice in my head … he always said you’ve got to go to the plate looking for what you’re going to get, not what you want to see.

“I think just being adjustable, making box adjustments, trusting your eyes and setting yourself on the track to be successful offensively, if you just repeat that over the course of a season and you remain healthy, which I did last year, you’ll have good results. I’m just going to build off of last year and build off the success and continue to work on all the things that I got exposed to, because nobody is perfect in this game, and I got exposed last year as well. It was a lot of work. It was a day by day process.”

While few free-agent position players choose Oracle Park, Bader actually might be a good fit for the dimensions. He doesn’t have a long track record of above-average success at the plate, and he can be strikeout-heavy at times. However, he’s also a right-handed pull hitter, and the ballpark is much more fair to those types than the Brandon Belts of the world. Bader’s bat speed has increased in recent years, showing physical skills that shouldn’t decline too much over a two-year contract. 

Bader also has a good track record in San Francisco, albeit in a small sample size. In 15 career games at Oracle Park, he has a .791 OPS and four homers. While those outfield walls might be tricky, another part of the ballpark has always helped him. 

“I think the biggest thing, regardless of the field, is how well you see the baseball,” he said. “For whatever reason, I do happen to see the ball very well (at Oracle Park) because the backdrop is set up very well there, so that certainly helps.”

The Giants believe Bader will be a good fit offensively at Oracle, but that will be determined over two years. There are no doubts about the way he will fit with Tony Vitello’s style, though. 

A native of New York, Bader is known as the kind of tough play-with-your-hair-on-fire outfielder that Vitello has loved in the past. He said he has heard good things about his new manager and is confident that he’ll be able to make the transition to MLB.

“I’m excited for him,” Bader said. “It’s a fantastic opportunity for us all. I just can’t wait to be in the dugout with him, just taking this thing one game at a time, just trying to win after nine innings. That’s it. He has a lot of experience with that at a different level, but the game is the same at every level.

“There’s a little more speed, a little more media, a little more fans, but it’s the same game. He knows how to do it, and I’m excited to be part of his group.”

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