Giants' bizarre Harrison Bader suspension proves Royals dodged free agent catastrophe

The Kansas City Royals have been plagued by injuries all season, which is a big reason as to why they find themselves in the lowly position of sitting 19 games below .500 entering August. Beyond injuries though, many will look to their offseason recruitment as lacking, particularly in their long-standing area of need in the outfield.

One name commonly linked to the Royals this offseason was center fielder Harrison Bader, who ended up signing with the San Francisco Giants on a two-year, $20.5 million contract. Compared to the Royals' free agent additions of Lane Thomas and Starling Marte, Bader looked like he could've been a prime candidate that got away from the Royals.

However, injuries have taken their toll on Bader in a bizarre fashion and may've cost him not only the rest of season, but it could mark the end of his tenure with the Giants all together. In an official statement from Giants President of Baseball Operations Buster Posey, Bader's pay has been suspended following an investigation being opened into a scooter accident he was involved in the early hours of Sunday morning.

It was reported that Bader struck a fire truck with his scooter and some, including The Athletic, are reporting alcohol might've been factor at play here.

Bader had already been shelved for sometime this season, having been out since May 29 due to a plantar fascia injury, which the crash has reportedly has set that recovery back.

Royals in better place without an ailing Harrison Bader following bizarre scooter incident

It's no secret that with all the terrible injury luck the Royals have had this season, even if they were able to land Bader, a situation like this would've been just terrible to deal with. Not only does it look bad on Bader, but the Giants are now in a brutal situation of how to handle the veteran outfielder moving forward.

And the reality is, despite their questionable handling of the outfield, the Royals appear better off without Bader anyways. Jac Caglianone has looked more than worthy of their trust in right field, Isaac Collins is looking like a complementary option for the future in left and they may be able to turn the aforementioned free agent duo of Thomas and Marte into pieces for the future at the trade deadline. Even with the injury to Kyle Isbel in center, the Royals look much better off in the outfield than they did a year ago.

Now, there's no denying that at the time, Bader looked like a surefire upgrade in the outfield heading into 2026. In 2025, he had a career-best 122 wRC+ season split between the Minnesota Twins and Philadelphia Phillies, where he slashed .277/.347/.449 with a 17 homers and 54 RBI. Along with his offense, 13 DRS, six OAA and an FRV of five ensured Bader secured his second career season with an fWAR above three.

That being said, before he hitting the IL this season with San Francisco, Bader was hitting just .170 with a .557 OPS and 48 wRC+. With how much scrutiny the Royals have been in 2026 under and how much anguish the Royals faithful have gone through with expectations being underdelivered on so heavily, a potential incident like this to an already underwhelming-looking bat would've been excruciating to endure.

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