The San Francisco Giants have taken the unusual step of suspending outfielder Harrison Bader without pay “until he is able to resume performing services for the Club.”
Bader, who signed a two-year, $20.5 million contract with San Francisco hasn’t played since May 29th as he has been suffering from planter fasciitis in his left foot. In the 30 games he did play for the Giants, he slashed a paltry .170/.198/.358, with five home runs.
On the last weekend of July, according to a public report made by the San Francisco Fire Department, at around 2 a.m., Bader (although not mentioned specifically by name), drove his scooter into the back of a fire truck in the Cow Hollow District. Per the report, the injured individual was “transported to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.”
It turns out that those injuries were a crushed left foot, the result of the fire truck rolling over said foot, which is the same one that has kept Bader out of the lineup for more than two months. The irony of the situation is that Bader was scheduled to fly to Indianapolis the day after the crash to have the planter fasciitis examined by a medical specialist. As reported by MLB.com, a Giants source stated that the accident “changed the nature of the evaluation.”
The Giants have not released any additional information about the accident, Bader’s medical status, or their suspension. When I reached out to the players union for a comment, they elected not to provide one.
Teams suspending a player without pay is quite rare, as that heavy hand customarily falls to the league offices for incidents covered by the Collective Bargaining Agreement. However, Article XII of the CBA states:
“The Parties recognize that a Player may be subjected to disciplinary action for just cause by his Club, the Senior Vice President, On-Field Operations (or comparable title/position) or the Commissioner.” [Emphasis added.] Thus, the ability to suspend the player hinges on the interpretation of the phrase “just cause.” If Bader elects to challenge the suspension through the CBA-mandated grievance process, this issue will be litigated. The team would have the burden of proving that they had “just cause” for the suspension.
However, Bader may not want to avail himself of this option, as witnesses stated that the player was seen drinking at different bars prior to the accident (it is unknown if emergency responders administered a blood-alcohol test at the scene or at the hospital, but those details would be discoverable in a grievance hearing). Further, this is not Bader’s first scooter rodeo. In 2014, while a student-athlete at the University of Florida, Bader crashed a motorized scooter into the back of a parked F-150 truck after first striking a curb. Bader was found unresponsive on the ground with a strong odor of alcohol. The team suspended him for 19 games.
Assuming Bader is unable to “resume performing services for the Club” prior to the end of the year, his accident will cost him about $1.5 million. More importantly, the outfielder is owed another $10 million next season, and, according to a statement released by the team, the scooter accident “complicated” his visit to the foot specialist.
If the Giants attempted to void the remainder of the contract (i.e., including 2027), then it is highly likely that the union would get involved. However, insofar as the labor negotiations have not yet begun in earnest and neither the league nor the team knows when (or if) the 2027 season will begin, there is no reason for the Giants to make any rash or rushed decisions. From the team’s perspective, the best case scenario is that Bader heals (from all of his injuries) and is a productive outfielder next year worthy of their $10 million commitment. Another scenario is that the season is delayed due to the labor strife, and the team is only on the hook for a percentage of Bader’s salary, even if he is ready to play. And, yet another scenario is that he does not properly recover, and because there is so much animus between organizations and players from the labor negotiations, the team goes to the mats in an effort to deny Bader the remainder of his contract.
As of right now, Bader is suspended without pay. He was reported to have visited the team’s clubhouse and “seemed contrite.” That may be why at least one player – rookie Daniel Susac – felt comfortable introducing a new “scooter” celebration when he recently hit a double.
But that bonhomie may or may not extend up to the front office, where decisions will need to be made, and checks or players will need to be cut.