Josh Hader has been on the rumor mill circuit for a good year+ now thanks to his arrival into his arbitration years, the extreme heights of his performance, and the risk that his performance could trail off at the same time his salary goes way up.
The Brewers kinda have to make their bones on trading guys like Hader.
That is to say, in a normal year, I’d be regarding almost all Hader rumors as plausible right about now. But this is not a normal year, and we’ve talked at length about the significant hurdles associated with executing a monster trade. Broadly speaking, I think it’s unlikely that the Brewers (who aren’t out of the playoff race) and some team out there could meet on value for Hader right now. His value in the acquisition season is depressed by the shortened schedule and uncertain postseason, and then his future salary could be a big knock on his value because of the pandemic financial fallout. Throw in the fact that teams are going to be all the more protective of their top prospects for those very same reasons, and it’s just hard to envision a fit coming together.
THAT SAID, let me concede that this is a match that could actually make sense:
Sources: Padres among teams to check in on Brewers’ Josh Hader.
— Robert Murray (@ByRobertMurray) August 28, 2020
First of all, the Padres have a real shot at the postseason for the first time in 14 years. Second of all, their clear achilles heel at the moment is a beleaguered bullpen, and Hader has yet to allow an earned run through his nine appearances this year. Third of all, these two teams have recently gotten together on a big trade, so they may already know a good bit about each others wants/needs/evaluations/etc. Fourth of all, the Padres are loaded with young and prospect talent, and are in a good position to absorb the cost.
A trade remains unlikely, but you can see why this could work. Given the potential enormous impact on the NL Central for years to come, it’s a situation to watch closely.