The trade that sent Josh Hader to the San Diego Padres ahead of last Tuesday's MLB trade deadline is not getting fully embraced, particularly by Milwaukee Brewers fans. It's easy to see why, since Hader was among the top performers for many years for the Milwaukee club, who has become a perennial National League title contender.
Brewers principal owner Mark Attanasio and Milwaukee president David Stearns spent time Friday addressing some of the fans' frustrations over the departure of Josh Hader. Among the topics clarified by Attanasio was the Brewers being cheap in handling the Josh Hader situation.
“Cost-cutting had absolutely nothing to do with this,” Attanasio said.
More from Attanasio:
“Every player that was available, we had the resources to pick up — not just for the balance of this season, but for other seasons in their contract. Dollars didn't come into the mix at all — in that or any trade that we did or weren't able to get done.”
Stearns also said that Hader's controllable term was among the reasons they let go of Hader.
“With the addition of Trevor Rosenthal, the payroll went up,” Stearns said. “And look, we had additional payroll flexibility to make moves.”
Frustrations of the fans over the Josh Hader trade have been louder, particularly during the Brewers' recent four-game losing skid which included a three-game sweep at the hands of the Pittsburgh Pirates on the road that saw Milwaukee's bullpen struggle mightily.
But it will still take some time before any side can make a full assessment of whether the Brewers made the right decision or not to part ways with Hader.
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