Giants suspend OF Harrison Bader's pay after late-night scooter accident worsens foot injury
The San Francisco Giants will be withholding payment to Harrison Bader following a late-night scooter accident that worsened his left foot injury, the team announced Friday. Bader was announced as out for the season on Thursday.
In a statement attributed to president of baseball operations Buster Posey, the Giants said they were still looking into the accident that "delayed" Bader's return from plantar fasciitis, but would not be paying him until he's performing again:
"Over the weekend, Harrison Bader was involved in an accident that has delayed Harrison's prior treatment timeline for plantar fasciitis and, unfortunately, his return to the field. We are still investigating the circumstances of the accident, but will be suspending payment to Harrison until he is able to resume performing services for the Club."
Bader signed a two-year, $20.5 million contract with the Giants in free agency last offseason. It seems likely he will file a grievance against the Giants through the MLB Players Association, which happens pretty much any time a team unilaterally withholds money from a player.
Curiously, Giants manager told reporters on Thursday that he believed Bader's return "would have been a longshot to begin with" due to the plantar fasciitis. One would imagine that comment being of interest for the MLBPA.
Bader has not played in a game since May 29. He was set to meet with a specialist in Indianapolis on Monday to evaluate his progression, but further injured the foot in a crash around 2 a.m. early Sunday morning near Balboa Cafe, a popular bar in San Francisco's Marina District.
According to a report from SFist, a witness said Bader crashed into the back of a San Francisco Fire Department fire engine, the wheel of which then rolled over his foot. Per The Athletic, he was seen drinking in bars in multiple neighborhoods before the crash.
This somehow isn't the first time Bader has faced significant consequences after driving a scooter into a truck on an early Sunday morning, as he was suspended from the Florida baseball team for 19 games in college following an incident in which he allegedly hit a parked Ford F-150.
This injury is an ignominious end to a season that hardly started strong. The former Gold Glover remains one of MLB's better defenders in center field when healthy, but struggled to replicate the production from his career year at the plate in 2025.
In his 30 games this season, he slashed .170/.198/.358 with five homers and no stolen bases. His 54 OPS+, which adjusts for the pitcher-friendly Oracle Park, still represents a new low in a career not known for consistent hitting.
