Harrison Bader’s left foot may never be the same after he crashed a scooter into the back of a fire truck at the end of July. He is currently suspended without pay. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
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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 29 due to plantar fasciitis in his left foot. In 30 games with the Giants, he posted a .170/.198/.358 slash line with five home runs.
According to a San Francisco Fire Department report, Bader crashed his scooter into the back of a fire truck in the Cow Hollow District around 2 a.m. on the final weekend of July. The report notes the injured individual was “transported to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries,” though Bader wasn’t named specifically.
Those injuries proved to be a crushed left foot — the same foot that had sidelined him for over two months — after the fire truck rolled over it. The timing was particularly unfortunate: Bader was scheduled to fly to Indianapolis the following day to have his plantar fasciitis examined by a specialist. A Giants source told MLB.com the accident “changed the nature of the evaluation.”
The Giants have not released further details about the accident, Bader’s medical status, or the suspension. The players’ union declined to comment when contacted.
Team-initiated suspensions without pay are rare; such discipline typically comes from the league office 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.] The club’s authority to suspend hinges on the interpretation of “just cause.” If Bader challenges the suspension through the CBA’s grievance process, the team would bear the burden of proving just cause.
Bader may be reluctant to pursue that option. Witnesses reported seeing him drinking at multiple bars before the crash, though it’s unknown whether emergency responders administered a blood-alcohol test at the scene or hospital — details that would be discoverable in a hearing. This also isn’t Bader’s first scooter incident. In 2014, as a student-athlete at the University of Florida, he crashed a motorized scooter into a parked F-150 after striking a curb. He was found unresponsive with a strong odor of alcohol and was suspended for 19 games.
If Bader cannot “resume performing services for the Club” before season’s end, the suspension will cost him approximately $1.5 million. More significantly, he’s owed $10 million next season, and the team says the scooter accident “complicated” his specialist visit.
Should the Giants attempt to void the remainder of the contract — including 2027 — the union would almost certainly intervene. With labor negotiations not yet underway in earnest and uncertainty surrounding whether the 2027 season will even begin on schedule, there’s no incentive for San Francisco to make hasty decisions. The team’s best-case scenario: Bader fully recovers and becomes a productive outfielder worth the $10 million commitment. Another possibility: a labor dispute delays the season, leaving the club on the hook for only a prorated portion of his salary even if he’s ready to play. A third scenario: Bader doesn’t recover, and amid the animosity from labor talks, the team fights aggressively to void the remaining contract.
For now, Bader remains suspended without pay. He reportedly visited the clubhouse recently and “seemed contrite” — perhaps why rookie Daniel Susac felt comfortable unveiling a new “scooter” celebration after hitting a double.
Whether that camaraderie extends to the front office remains to be seen, where difficult decisions await about checks to write or players to cut.