$8 million.
That’s how much the Minnesota Twins spent last offseason to sign Ty France and Harrison Bader, two of the team’s most consistent players this season. All it took was $1 million to sign France and $7 million to sign Bader when you add in his signing bonus.
To put that into perspective, Byron Buxton makes around $14 million per season, and Carlos Correa makes around $33 million. $47 million for team leaders who had a slow start to the season is almost four times as much as France and Bader for similar production.
Although Buxton leads the team in most hitting statistics, it took him until the middle of April for him to get going. Correa still seems to struggle at times at the plate, but makes up for it with great defensive play.
The Twins held Bader and France out of the series finale starting lineup against the Baltimore Orioles after sustaining injuries during Wednesday’s doubleheader. Showing that even the most consistent players on the team can also come down with the injury bug.
France and Bader have found ways to lift the Twins when the team struggled early in the season.
During this 11-game winning streak, it’s important to highlight their production throughout the season and their ability to do whatever this Twins team asks of them, including playing while injured.
France leads the Twins in doubles and is second in hits. Although the team is going through a 0 for 12 drought at the plate, it shows how crucial France was, particularly during Minnesota’s 13-18 first month.
Halfway through May, Bader leads the team in average, OBP, OPS, and WAR among hitters who have had over 100 at-bats.
Bader’s speed and agility have led to incredible defensive play, which made him second on the team in outs above average (OAA) and success rate added, which subtracts a fielder’s estimated success rate from their actual success. Bader trails only Carlos Correa on the team in both metrics and is in the top 20 in baseball.
France exited Game 1 with a foot contusion after fouling a pitch off the top of his foot. He did so after injuring the heel of that same foot the Saturday before, as he was attempting to leg out a single against the San Francisco Giants.
France entered the series finale after a collision between Correa and Buxton in shallow center field in the third inning of that game. Even when the Twins are injured, France is stepping up when the team needs him the most, making him worth more than his $1 million contract.
After making a fantastic sliding catch and slamming into the wall in Game 1, Bader exited midway through Game 2 with left groin tightness.
Bader and France’s injuries aren’t as severe as Correa and Buxton’s. The Twins have listed Bader and France as day-to-day.
France entered the series finale, so it looks like he will avoid a trip to the IL. If Bader only needs extended rest, Twins fans can expect extended playing time for Kody Clemens and DaShawn Keirsey Jr., who have been swinging a hot bat and coming in clutch lately.
If Bader’s injury is more severe than initially thought, and a trip to the IL is necessary, the Twins can call up Edouard Julien.
Julien was with the Twins earlier in the season, hitting just under .200 with two home runs and eight RBIs over 29 games, before being sent down earlier this month along with Mickey Gasper in favor of Willie Castro and Royce Lewis.
The Twins have had to rely heavily on France and Bader, whom they took flyers on during the off-season. In a start to the season that saw little offensive production, these two always found a way to get on base and made the most of their chances at the plate and on the field.
If they can get healthy and maintain that health and their early-season production throughout this season, the Twins will be in good shape as the season progresses.
44 games into the season, and these two are already well worth their combined $8 million.
