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.
2. The Padres beat the Phillies to the punch for Josh Hader.
The Philadelphia Phillies definitely could have used Josh Hader for a stretch run in their quest to secure spot in the NL Wild Card. As it is, Philadelphia is locked in a battle with the St. Louis Cardinals for the final spot in the race to make it to the postseason. With St. Louis rumored to be looking to upgrade before the deadline, the Phillies missed a golden opportunity.
The Phillies farm system isn't stacked, but Philadelphia has enough talent in their minor leagues to piece together what it would have taken to pry Josh Hader away from the Milwaukee Brewers without sacrificing their top prospects.
Philadelphia currently has Corey Knebel, Hader's former teammate, installed as the team's closer. Knebel hasn't been atrocious this season, but it's plausible to believe that he's no longer at the same level he was back in 2017 when he went to the All-Star Game and recorded 39 saves for the Brewers.
This was a miss for Dave Dombrowski and the Phillies front office. The second they were made aware of the Brewers intent to trade Hader, they should have jumped at the opportunity. Instead, Hader's headed out west to play for another NL Wild Card contender.
3. The Padres beat the Dodgers to the punch for Josh Hader.
Did the San Diego Padres outwit the Los Angeles Dodgers? Both teams are vying for playoff positioning, and while LA has a sizable lead in the National League West Division, their path through the postseason just got a lot more difficult.
A.J. Preller and Andrew Friedmann are two of the best executives in baseball, but Preller seems to have gotten the better of Friedmann this go-around. Both teams have stacked farm systems, so it's not as if the Dodgers didn't have the horses available to get a deal done for Josh Hader.
Craig Kimbrel is the Dodgers closer, but that cannot be very reassuring for Dave Roberts and company. The right-hander is carrying an ERA above 4.00 and a 1.500 WHIP. That's not necessarily the pitcher you want to turn to when the game is on the line in the playoffs.
The Dodgers and Padres know each other very well, and we should all expect Freidmann to counteract this move with one of his won before the clock strikes 6 PM ET on Tuesday's trade deadline. But, for the moment, the San Diego Padres pulled a fast one on the Los Angeles Dodgers.