All-Star closer Josh Hader may be a free agent at the start of next season, but don't expect the San Diego Padres to use him as a trade chip at the upcoming MLB trade deadline.
Acquired from the Milwaukee Brewers at last season's trade deadline, the 29-year-old Hader has been everything the San Diego Padres could have wanted when they made the blockbuster deal. In 44.2 innings over 49 games, Hader has logged a 3.43 ERA/2.67 FIP/1.187 WHIP since donning the brown and gold. This season, Hader has been especially solid, lowering that pitching slash line to 1.26 ERA/2.25 FIP/0.942 WHIP while posting an impressive 327 ERA+ and 18 saves.
Why the San Diego Padres won't be trading Josh Hader
San Diego enters Tuesday's series opener in Pittsburgh against the Pirates 9.5 games behind the Arizona Diamondbacks in the National League West and 6.5 games out of the NL Wild Card chase. At 37-41, the Padres still haven't reached the halfway point of their schedule, giving manager Bob Melvin every reason to tell MLB Network Radio that he believed his team still has "a nice run" left in them.
Granted, anything is possible if the Padres continue to fall back in the standings, and the 12 games (six on the road against Pittsburgh and Cincinnati and six at home versus the Los Angeles Angels and New York Mets) before the All-Star break could help determine which way general manager A.J. Preller will lean at the trade deadline. However, trading Hader would signal a lost season in San Diego, a campaign that began with such high hopes for what was to come.
Without Hader, a shaky Padres bullpen (still missing Robert Suarez, who is working his way back from an elbow injury and has yet to pitch in 2023, as well as Tom Cosgrove, currently rehabbing from a hamstring strain) becomes much shakier. Only Nick Martinez has a save outside of Hader this season for the Padres, and Martinez could well find himself back in the rotation as the season goes along. When it comes to the late innings, San Diego doesn't have a true answer other than Hader, meaning a trade would be devastating for the rest of 2023.
It could also be devastating moving forward for the franchise. It's believed that the Padres will work to keep Hader as a part of their pitching family beyond this season, and that's a decision Preller will be making with not only Hader (his best reliever), but also Blake Snell, a free agent after this season who has morphed into the team's best starter.
Will the San Diego Padres trade Josh Hader? It's not impossible, but we're hearing that it's highly unlikely.