Are the Brewers considering trading Josh Hader?

Trading Hader while in a title contention window would be a huge mistake for the Brewers.

The Brewers have a nice backup plan at closer with Williams but he was unreliable last season when he broke his hand before the playoffs. It would be a tall ask to move a prime setup man into the closer role during a division title race. Williams does have eight career saves but he has had some minor struggles since his rookie season.

He has not had the consistent dominant stretches that Hader has had.

Also, the Brew Crew would be better off with a dominant Hader on the Brewers playoff roster then potentially playing against him in October. Nightengale speculates one team that could blow the Brewers away with an offer is the Los Angles Dodgers. That might be a team the Brewers could face in October if Milwaukee repeats as NL Central Division champions.

The Milwaukee Brewers’ strength is their starting rotation and the back end of their bullpen. If the Brewers can squeak out winning the NL Central Division title, they will head into the playoffs with a rotation of Corbin Burnes, Brandon Woodruff, and some sort of combination of Eric Lauer, Aaron Ashby, or Freddie Peralta (if he recovers from injury).

It has been pretty much game over when Brad Boxberger, Williams, and Hader enter the game to pitch either in a high leverage situation or fill their traditional seventh, eighth, and ninth-inning roles.

Unless the Brewers are bringing back Shohei Ohtani or Mike Trout in a deal for Hader, it is not worth breaking up that late-inning trio.