San Diego Padres: The wild way Josh Hader learned he had been traded

New San Diego Padres closer Josh Hader missed a very important call on Monday, but eventually ended up getting the news of his trade from the Milwaukee Brewers through social media.

Josh Hader talks about the MLB trade deadline deal that brought him from the Milwaukee Brewers to the San Diego Padres

The 28-year-old Hader met with the media for the first time as a member of the San Diego Padres on Tuesday at Petco Park. During the talk, he relayed how he first learned about the blockbuster deal that brought him to southern California, and how Twitter played a big role in it.

“I got two calls from my agent and that kind of spun my head a little bit,” Hader said. “I thought that was weird that they would call me, so my wife looked on Twitter and saw that I had been traded.”

Hader said he returned the call to his agent and “that’s when everything started being official and a little overwhelming, obviously knowing you could be traded but, when it’s official like that, it kind of goes into a whirlwind.”

He also said he was excited to join the Padres, but is still in the middle of that whirlwind.

“Change is always hard and difficult, in the sense that being used to something because you’ve been there your whole career,” Hader said. “The people in Milwaukee and the atmosphere there, it was great. There was a great group of guys and getting to go to the playoffs together.

“But that’s how business works, and change is always good.”

Hader said he is looking forward to being a part of the Padres as they make a push to the postseason, especially knowing the attitude that has been amplified with the team thanks to the trades that brought him, Juan Soto, and Josh Bell to the club.

“This team wants to win. That’s the atmosphere I always like to be a part of,” Hader said. “The caliber of guys this team has, being on the other side, has never been easy to face.

“Obviously the moves that A.J. (Padres general manager A.J. Preller) has put together, it’s exciting.”

The All-Star closer will be available on Tuesday when the Colorado Rockies and Padres meet in a scheduled double-header at Petco Park. It’s the first of an NL West-focused stretch for San Diego, who next travels to L.A. to meet the Dodgers before coming home to meet the San Francisco Giants in a span that lasts through August 10.

“We just saw the Rockies a week ago at home (when Colorado visited Milwaukee), so it’s going to be great.”