Harrison Bader stunned to learn Yankees placed him on waivers by watching ESPN

Minutes before playing center field for the New York Yankees Tuesday night, Harrison Bader was stunned to learn he was being placed on waivers.

After the Yankees’ 4-2 win over the Detroit Tigers Tuesday night, which Bader played in despite being placed on waivers, YES Network reporter Meredith Marakovits asked the center fielder how he learned of the news.

Harrison Bader tells @M_Marakovits how he discovered he was placed on waivers.#YANKSonYES pic.twitter.com/T7CIGivRGs

— YES Network (@YESNetwork) August 30, 2023

“I was in the lunchroom and saw it on ESPN. I guess it popped up somehow over there, so that’s how I found out,” Bader admitted, adding that his initial reaction was, “What does waivers mean?”

It means Bader’s tenure with the Yankees could be over. The Yankees placed Bader on irrevocable waivers Tuesday, allowing other teams to claim him and add the outfielder to their roster by Friday. If claimed during the 48-hour waiver period, Bader would be eligible for that team’s postseason roster. If Bader is not claimed, he remains on the Yankees roster.

“I’ll just be by my phone,” Bader said of waiting out the next 48 hours to see where he’ll be playing by the weekend. “But listen, it is what it is. Regardless of the situation, you get an opportunity to play baseball, especially in the big leagues; you never take it for granted.”

Bader can also keep tabs on ESPN because the Worldwide Leader is more likely to inform him of his fate than the Yankees. Having a player find out they were being placed on waivers ten minutes before the game and then asking that player to play in the game without ever explaining what the news means for his future seems like a breakdown in communication by the Yankees.

After finding out he was being placed on waivers, Bader went 0-4 and committed an error in the Yankees win, later admitted the news crossed his mind during the game.

“I’m human, so yeah, maybe a little bit,” Bader said. “But I did a really good job, once you get between the white lines, of just turning it off. It’s kind of in those moments in between, when you put your helmet down and stuff, when you’re just like, ‘Hmm, that really happened.’”

[YES Network]