Could the Milwaukee Brewers send Josh Hader to the defending World Series champions?
We couldn’t close out this piece without talking about the Los Angeles Dodgers. Whether it’s Francisco Lindor, Josh Hader, Trevor Bauer, or any other big name on the market, the Dodgers will be players as they look to defend their crown in 2021 and prove that their short-season success wasn’t a fluke.
Can the Milwaukee Brewers and Los Angeles Dodgers match up in a potential deal? Absolutely.
The Dodgers can’t rely on Kenley Jansen anymore. More specifically, Jansen can’t be relied on to close out games with the same dominance he once had anymore. But the Dodgers could put together a dominant group of late-inning arms with a trio of Jansen, Brusdar Graterol, and Josh Hader.
For the Milwaukee Brewers, the idea of rolling out a double-play combo of Keston Hiura and Gavin Lux has to be appealing. If the Dodgers do put together a package for Hader, including Lux seems like it’s a must.
Lux slashed .305/.383/.483 with 48 home runs, 79 doubles, and 29 triples across six minor league seasons with the Dodgers organization and has shown glimpses of what made him a prominent prospect in his brief amount of time in the majors over the last two seasons.
Unless the Dodgers can find a way to put Gavin Lux in their everyday lineup, moving him in package for Josh Hader improves the major league roster and secures a replacement for Jansen, who becomes a free agent after the 2021 season.
It’s no guarantee that the Milwaukee Brewers trade Josh Hader this offseason but the timing makes perfect sense and each of these three teams mentioned has the pieces to improve Milwaukee’s immediate future. With Devin Williams in charge of things in Milwaukee now, moving Hader may be an easier pill to swallow now.