Harrison Bader suggests he'd take discount to stay with Yankees

Center fielder Harrison Bader sounds prepared to sign a discounted contract, if necessary, to remain with the New York Yankees past the 2023 MLB season. 

"I absolutely love it here," Bader recently told Randy Miller of NJ Advance Media for NJ.com. "Are you kidding me? It’s a blessing every day. It’s an iconic jersey. It’s so much bigger than me. It’s amazing." 

The native of Bronxville who grew up a short drive away from Yankee Stadium and who can become a free agent after the campaign insisted he loves playing for New York so much that he'd "do this s--- for free." 

The Yankees traded with the St. Louis Cardinals to acquire Bader last summer, and he became a fan-favorite last fall when he hit .333 with five home runs across nine playoff games. Bader missed the start of this season due to an oblique injury, and the Yankees improved from 15-15 overall without him to 30-22 following Thursday's 3-1 loss to the Baltimore Orioles. 

Across his first 22 games of the season, Bader hit .263 with five homers and 17 RBI while flashing the type of defensive talent that made him a Gold Glove selection in 2021. 

"There are people in place to take care of those types of discussions and negotiations," Bader said about contract talks with the Yankees. "When the time is right, I’ll let them handle that. My job every day is come out and play winning baseball and ultimately work towards winning a championship in New York City. That’s what I care about. Outside of that, I’m just having fun playing ball." 

MLB insider Jon Heyman of the New York Post recently argued the Yankees shouldn't wait to extend Bader's stay with the franchise. The 28-year-old could become more expensive with each month but suggested he doesn't mind his agent knowing he'd accept a team-friendly deal to remain a Yankee through the rest of the 2020s. 

"Players get compensated accordingly," he explained. "There’s never a doubt about that. I’m not worried about that at all. I play this game to win championships. Beyond myself, I want to win a championship in New York City. I know what it means when athletes and teams take home championships in this city. It’s something I’ve always read about, and I want to do it." 

The Yankees entered Friday trailing the first-place Tampa Bay Rays by seven games in the American League East standings. New York starts a three-game home series against the 23-27 San Diego Padres on Friday night.