Padres avoid arbitration with Juan Josh Hader and record pact

Padres have avoided arbitration with a relief star. San Diego and lefty speedster Josh Hader agreed to a $14.1MM contract. It’s the biggest for a reliever in arbitration. Hader landed with the Padres in a massive deadline deal. Acquired from the Brewers in a surprising trade, he posted a 7.31 ERA in his first 16 innings in San Diego.
An increase in walks played a role in those anomalous struggles, though Hader was also plagued by an unsustainably high .372 batting average on balls in play against him. He had only posted a 4.24 ERA in 34 innings with Milwaukee before the trade, but he struck out an astonishing 41.8% of his opponents for the Brew Crew:
The lanky lefty has an established, multi-year track record as one of the most dominant arms in the late game. He has a career 2.71 ERA with a 43.2% strikeout percentage in 332 1/3 innings in the big leagues.
You can also read: MLB News Cubs sign former Yankees and Giants outfielder coming from Korea
Hader has racked up 132 saves on the road and has been selected to the All-Star Game four times. He himself is rewarded with one of the biggest arbitrage deals of the winter, narrowly beating his projection of $13.6MM.. With a typically dominant performance in 2023, Hader would have a chance to surpass the reliever’s record $102MM free agent contract signed by Edwin Diaz this offseason.
Follow us on