Josh Hader trade: 3 teams the Padres beat to the punch
By Drew Koch
The Milwaukee Brewers surprisingly dealt their longtime closer to the San Diego Padres. What three teams missed out on Josh Hader?
In a surprising turn of events, the Milwaukee Brewers, who are leading the National League Central at the moment, traded their longtime closer Josh Hader to the San Diego Padres.
In return, the Brewers received closer Taylor Rogers, left-handed pitching prospect Robert Gasser, outfielder Esteury Ruiz, and right-hander Dinelson Lamet. The price was high, but Hader is under team control through next season and greatly upgrades the Padres bullpen.
While both the Brewers and Padres could be considered winners in this particular trade, there’s always a loser as well. This time, it may be the number of teams who missed out on Josh Hader’s services. Which three teams did the Padres beat to the punch?
1. The Padres beat the Twins to the punch for Josh Hader.
Man, if there was a contender who could’ve used Josh Hader’s services at the trade deadline it was the Minnesota Twins. Current closer Emilio Pagan is having a horrendous 2022 campaign with a 4.75 ERA 1.361 WHIP.
Minnesota has already committed to go all-in this season. The Twins signed Carlos Correa to huge contract this offseason, inked Byron Buxton to a multi-year extension, and traded for All-Star starter Sonny Gray.
Minnesota is in it to win this season, but the Cleveland Guardians and Chicago White Sox are gaining ground on the American League Central Division-leaders. The Twins bullpen, as a whole, has been about middle-of-the-road this season.
The Padres did not have to give up any of their top prospects in order to secure Josh Hader. While it definitely would have cost the Twins a pretty penny in terms of prospect capital, they’d gladly sacrifice that if it meant having a legitimate shot to win in the postseason.