Brewers willing to trade Josh Hader with Dodgers as potential suitor

The Brewers are flirting with the idea of being major sellers at the trade deadline

Despite remaining within striking distance of the Chicago Cubs in the NL Central, the Brewers are not blind to their deficiencies. Milwaukee has scratched and clawed their way back near the .500 mark, but as a small-market team, they’re facing a tough reality. As currently constructed, the organization failed to make the necessary upgrades in the offseason to make up for obvious losses in the rotation and lineup. Mike Moustakas and Yasmani Grandal aren’t walking through that door.

What the Brewers do have, however, are assets. Bullpen help is always necessary for contender near the Trade Deadline, and there is no better relief ace available than Josh Hader. Milwaukee balked at trading Hader at first, but per Bob Nightengale, the Brewers have made him available for the right price.

Are the Dodgers a potential suitor for Hader?

Los Angeles has the farm system to at least make the Brewers consider a Hader trade.

Any conversation for Hader would begin with Gavin Lux, though the Dodgers seem unlikely to let go of their top prospect, even with the 26-year-old Hader signed through the 2022 season. Hader is arbitration-eligible, making for an offseason headache for whatever team acquires him. The rest of the Dodgers farm system top-5 includes Josiah Gray, Keibert Ruiz, Brusdar Graterol (who was acquired in the Kenta Maeda trade with the Twins) and Kody Hoese. A prospect of that caliber is likely a must for a player of Hader’s caliber.

Los Angeles’ bullpen features Kenley Jansen, with Blake Treinen and Graterol playing primary late-inning roles as well. If the Dodgers have a weakness, it is here, and that could be exposed in the postseason. As indestructible as this current Dodgers crop seems right now, adding Hader to the mix should sure up any holes Andrew Friedman sees in the roster.