Brewers make surprising move right after trading Josh Hader

The Milwaukee Brewers have made a surprising move following the Josh Hader trade.

Just days after breaking the hearts of every Milwaukee Brewers fan out there by trading Josh Hader to the Padres, the club has made a questionable decision.

The Brew Crew landed a surprisingly strong package in return for Hader, including closer Taylor Rogers, promising right-hander Dinelson Lamet and prospects Robert Gasser and Esteury Ruiz.

Lamet, one of the more promising names in the Hader deal, has been designated for assignment, along with third-string catcher Pedro Severino. Needless to say, Brewers fans are a little bit confused, and rightfully so.

Brewers President of Baseball Operations David Stearns said after the move was announced, “Dinelson has a good arm and was included in the trade to help balance out a deal. As subsequent transactions played out, the roster fit became a little tougher. We are hopeful we will be able to keep him in our system.”

Brewers: To the surprise of many, Dinelson Lamet has been DFA’d

With the Brewers landing Matt Bush and Trevor Rosenthal in addition to Lamet, the roster crunch does make a bit more sense. Although, it remains to be seen why another arm in the current pen (like Brent Suter, Jake McGee or even Bush) couldn’t have been the one removed from the 40-man roster.

Lamet is just two years removed from a dominant 2020 season in which he posted a 2.09 ERA and 2.48 FIP in 12 starts for the Padres, finishing fourth in the NL Cy Young Award voting. 2021 was a bit of a statistical downturn for him, and this season has been a disaster for the 30-year old.

In 13 appearances out of the Padres bullpen this year, Lamet has allowed 13 earned runs in 12 innings, good for a 9.49 ERA. He has struggled with injuries as well, which ultimately led to his demotion by the Friars.

It’s not an outrageous thought that he will not make it all the way through waivers with the Brewers. Lamet is a very promising pitcher when he’s on, and he has a blazing fastball and a wipeout slider that makes him either a solid starting pitcher or an excellent relief pitcher. Should he make it through waivers, he is under contract through the 2024 season.

In Severino, the Brewers brought him aboard to be a lefty-mashing backup catcher that formed the right side of a platoon with Omar Narváez. Before the regular season even began, Severino was hit with an 80-game PED suspension and immediately fell out of the spotlight in Milwaukee.

After serving his suspension, the 29-year old backstop played a total of 12 games in the minors for Milwaukee, splitting six games between Double-A Biloxi and Triple-A Nashville, going 14-for-48 with one home run and six RBI, earning some starts at first base as well in an effort to expand his versatility.

After the Crew went out and traded for Victor Caratini, it became easy to see how three catchers wouldn’t work out on the active roster. Caratini comes with a minor league option to his name, but he has quietly been very, very good for the Brewers this season, essentially stealing Severino’s spot on the roster right out from under him.