By Shereen Siewert | Wausau Pilot & Review
Multiple media sources including ESPN are reporting star reliever Josh Hader will be traded to the San Diego Padres in exchange for Taylor Rogers and three additional players.
Hader leads the majors with 29 saves, though his performance of late has been lackluster compared to previous efforts. Rogers is a close second in the save category, with 28. Hader is a four-time All-Star player.
Sports analysts are now speculating who will close for the Brewers upon Hader’s departure.
“Rogers seems like the easy choice, but the Padres had just removed him from the role after an ugly month of July in which he allowed 10 earned runs in 9 2/3 innings,” wrote Scott White, CBS Fantasy Sports writer.
In addition to Rogers, the Brewers will receive lefty pitching prospect Robert Gasser in the trade, along with outfielder Esteury Ruiz and right-hander Dinelson Lamet, the ESPN report claims.
Milwaukee holds a three-game lead in the National League Central.
Hader, who has an $11 million salary, would have seen his compensation jump to $15 million next year, his final year of club control. That may have played into the decision by the budget-conscious Brewers to deal 28-year-old Hader to avoid a scenario in which the club would dedicate a significant portion of the overall payroll to a single reliever on the roster.
