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3 Reasons the Milwaukee Brewers Would Consider Trading Josh Hader

By Paul Bretl

Jul 7, 2021; New York City, New York, USA; Milwaukee Brewers relief pitcher Josh Hader (71) reacts during the seventh inning against the New York Mets at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Jul 7, 2021; New York City, New York, USA; Milwaukee Brewers relief pitcher Josh Hader (71) reacts during the seventh inning against the New York Mets at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports /
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Milwaukee Brewers
Jun 28, 2021; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Devin Williams (38) reacts after getting the final out of the eighth inning against the Chicago Cubs at American Family Field. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports /

The Milwaukee Brewers have Devin Williams

There are many teams in baseball that if they lost a relief pitcher of Josh Hader’s caliber, they would wonder not only who was going to replace him, but how big of a dropoff in talent would there be?

But when it comes to the Milwaukee Brewers, they also have Devin Williams and that filthy change-up of his to lean on. The shortened 2020 season was Williams’ breakout campaign as he won NL Rookie of the Year and NL Reliever of the Year behind a 0.33 ERA, a 0.63 WHIP, and a ridiculous 17.7 K/9.

The big question entering the 2021 season was, could Williams remain dominant over a normal 162 game season?

While early on he took his lumps, he would eventually round into form and finish the season with a 2.50 ERA, a 1.185 WHIP, and 14.5 K/9 before his season ended prematurely.

"“Devin’s season ended very unfortunately,” David Stearns said via MLB.com, “and no one feels worse about that than Devin. But seeing him as a dominant reliever now for a full season, I think it’s very encouraging for all of us. Coming back, [he is] someone we feel like we can really count on.”"

As the traditional closer, there would be more high-leverage situations for Williams to contend with and to some degree, there would be a dropoff going from Hader to Williams–Hader is just simply better. But over the last two seasons, Williams has shown that he can not only handle those big moments but also be fairly dominant as well.

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