NEWSLETTER
It isn’t that I was not paying any attention whatsoever to Josh Hader’s free agent market, but the outgoing Padres closer and former Brewers closer was simply not a guy I had pegged for a Cubs pursuit. He is not the type they tend to spend big on, and he is going to get big money.
But Jon Morosi hopped on MLB Network and threw the Cubs’ name out there:
Although the Rangers and the Phillies come in for top billing, Morosi throws out the Cubs as something of a hey, think about this team, too. It sounds more speculative than rumor-reporting, so just be aware.
Morosi acknowledges how good Adbert Alzolay was last year, but offers that (1) Craig Counsell knows how to get the best out of Josh Hader, (2) the Cubs are trying to build out a serious playoff contender, and (3) maybe the Cubs would want to try to impress Shohei Ohtani by making significant additions.
You know the story with Hader, the 29-year-old top-tier closer. He had a pretty significant blip in 2022 between the Brewers and Padres, but there were reasons to believe that could have been a flukey aberration. He certainly bounced back in a big way in 2023, and has otherwise been a top-5 relief arm during his career (FanGraphs):
The Cubs, like any contender, would be better with Josh Hader in the bullpen. I don’t think anyone can seriously argue otherwise.
The question is whether the Cubs want to commit upwards of $80-100 million to a reliever (I expect Hader to be shooting for the Edwin Diaz deal or better), and an AAV in the $20 million range. They tend not to be so aggressive on that side of things, plus there would be draft pick compensation attached (the Cubs would lose their second-highest pick in the draft, and also $500K in IFA funds).
Interestingly, there is that Counsell connection, and the recent report that the front office may have softened its stance on avoiding multi-year deals for relievers. I’d at least keep my eye on Hader’s market, but I would be very surprised if that’s a serious Cubs pursuit, barring some UNGODLY outlay of cash this offseason that we weren’t anticipating.
