The San Diego Padres have acquired All-Star closer Josh Hader in a deal with the Milwaukee Brewers.
Hader currently leads the majors with 29 saves on the season and has long been considered one of, if not the best, closer in baseball. In exchange, the Padres are sending veteran reliever Taylor Rogers, LHP Robert Gasser, RHP Dinelson Lamet, and OF Esteury Ruiz.
San Diego currently holds a 57-46 record, and sit 12 games back of the Dodgers for the NL West divisional lead. Meanwhile Milwaukee sits atop the NL Central with a 3 game cushion over the St. Louis Cardinals.
It’s not often you see a divisional leader ship off a key piece of their bullpen. However the club evidently felt as though they would be unable to sign Hader to a long term deal, making him expendable at the deadline. The 28 year old former Brewer is slated to become a free agent following the 2023 season.
Hader holds a career 17-17 record with 125 saves across 6 MLB campaigns. A 4x All-Star, the Maryland native has been named NL reliever of the year on 3 separate occasions.
Going the other way, Taylor Rogers currently sits 2nd in the majors with 28 saves on the season and boasts a 4.35 ERA and 1.13 WHIP across 42 appearances on the year. It’s unclear whether the Brewers will elect to use Rogers in the closer role, as setup man Devin Williams is currently riding a scoreless inning streak that’s now stretched to 30IP.
The 2020 NL Rookie of the Year sits at 2-0 with a 1.59 ERA in 39.2IP, and his 1.35 K’s per inning is far superior to that of Rogers. If nothing else, it gives Milwaukee Manager Craig Counsell late inning options between the lefty, Rogers, and righty, Williams.
Dinelson Lamet has struggled at the MLB level this year, posting a 9.49 ERA across 12.1IP, and has seen his ERA, WHIP, H9, HR9 and BB9 increase in each of the last 3 years. Once a highly touted prospect, the now 30 year old figures to have a limited role at best with the Brewers.
Robert Gasser, San Diego’s 7th ranked prospect, is currently sporting a 4.18 ERA with 115Ks through 90.1IP with high A Fort Wayne. Meanwhile Esteury Ruiz, the Padres 28th ranked prospect, has a .222/.333/.556 slash line across 27 plate appearances with the Padres in 2022.
The deal gives San Diego a dominant 9th inning option as they prepare for a postseason push. But perhaps more importantly, it keeps many of their most prized prospects in their system. The club has been linked to Nationals slugger Juan Soto in recent days and this deal helps them both in the immediate future, while potentially helping them land the biggest prize on the open market in the 23 year old All-Star.
-Kyle Skinner
Twitter: @JKyleSkinner