Yankees Better Not Trade Entire Farm for Josh Hader After Letting Dellin Betances Walk
By Scott Rogust
Throwing $324 million at ace Gerrit Cole was bound to have a trickle down effect on the free agents from the New York Yankees' 2019 roster. We saw it once shortstop Didi Gregorius joined the Philadelphia Phillies on a one-year contract, and on Tuesday, the Yankees watched as homegrown relief pitcher Dellin Betances join the New York Mets on a one-season pact.
Betances' role on the Yankees appeared to be in flux due to health concerns, as well as the team's inquiries directed towards the Milwaukee Brewers into closer Josh Hader. While, yes, that could put the World Series favorites over the edge, they simply can't trade what's left of the farm for a reliever.
Yankees remain interested in Josh Hader and could begin a package with 3B Miguel Andujar (Brewers don’t really have a set 3B). Interested teams still aren’t totally convinced Milwaukee would move the star closer though.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) December 22, 2019
Andujar? As in, a proven bat? Didn't New York lack that during last year's ALCS? Are we blind?
There's no denying Hader's talent, as he's one of the more elite closers in the league, further evidenced by his 2.62 ERA, 0.81 WHIP, and 37 saves in 61 appearances in 2019. Any MLB club looking to contend should certainly be dialing up their phones and contacting Brewers general manager David Stearns about a potential deal.
But, that's where things get difficult.
For what it’s worth, the same source that told me the Mets we’re pushing hard for Betances a couple of weeks ago told me on Friday that he still believed Josh Hader would end up a Yankee. An opinion, of course, but an informed one
— Dan Federico (@DanJFederico) December 24, 2019
Hader is under team control for the next three seasons, and won't become a free agent until the conclusion of his 2023 campaign. For the Brewers to willingly give up such a financially-friendly player like Hader before his arbitration raises, a team would have to give up numerous top prospects.
The name linked to a potential Yankees trade is Miguel Andujar, who would fill Milwaukee's need of an everyday third baseman. But you have to believe Stearns will ask for a combo of Deivi Garcia, Jasson Dominguez, and Estevan Florial as well.
That's not to mention, either, that Hader's fastball declined in effectiveness during Year 2. Year 2! Why pay a premium for the next several years?
Losing Betances is rough because of Betances being gone.
— Chris Dixon (@cdixon25) December 24, 2019
It’s also tough because now we have to suffer through all these twitter accounts with fake sources telling us about how Josh Hader is imminent for the rest of the offseason.
That's simply too much for Yankees general manager Brian Cashman to surrender, when they could've easily brought back Betances for one more year on a prove-it deal to eat up the middle innings.
There's no rush to acquire Josh Hader at this moment. There's always the July trade deadline to see if Hader continues to put up dominant stuff with the Brewers, and to see if he would fill an immediate need on the New York Yankees.
As of now, it's simply not a worthwhile upgrade.