Padres’ Josh Hader trade comes back to haunt them in NLDS exit vs. Brewers

Of course it just had to be Robert Gasser. The Padres’ season could have ended quietly against any random postseason arm. Instead, the Brewers handed the ball to a pitcher San Diego drafted, developed and eventually traded away in its relentless pursuit of the next blockbuster.

To be fair, Gasser didn’t single-handedly eliminate the Padres. Garrett Mitchell, if anyone, owns that distinction after driving in Milwaukee’s first run, scoring the second and robbing Manny Machado of a potential game-tying home run in the eighth inning.

But Gasser supplied the punch line. The former Padres prospect held his old organization to three hits and one run across four innings Wednesday night, helping Milwaukee secure a 3-1 victory and send San Diego home in four games. Fernando Tatis Jr. launched a solo home run off him. The rest of the Padres’ lineup didn’t generate much. It was a pretty miserable way to go out.

The Padres finally received the bill for the Josh Hader trade

San Diego selected Gasser with the 71st overall pick in the 2021 MLB Draft. Barely a year later, A.J. Preller included him in the package that brought Josh Hader to the Padres.

The logic made sense. Preller had built a contender, the trade deadline was approaching and Hader was one of baseball’s most dominant closers. The Padres wanted to win immediately. Gasser helped get the star the Padres needed.

Hader delivered, too. He was nearly untouchable during San Diego’s 2022 postseason run, closing five of the team’s six victories and helping the Padres reach their first NLCS since 1998. He remained an elite closer in 2023, recording 33 saves before leaving in free agency.

San Diego received exactly what it wanted from that trade. Milwaukee received time. The Brewers allowed Gasser to develop, watched him undergo Tommy John surgery and waited for him to work his way back. When they needed someone to start an elimination game at Petco Park, he was ready.

October 7 was another reminder of Preller’s roster-building philosophy. He operates with urgency, attacks every available window and treats tomorrow’s depth as the price of improving today’s roster. It has also left the Padres constantly searching for affordable, controllable pitching.

Gasser is exactly that kind of arm. San Diego keeps trading pitchers like him, then spending the next offseason trying to find another one.

San Diego’s win-now philosophy delivered one final October gut punch

The Padres had opportunities. They loaded the bases in the first inning and let Gasser escape. Tatis crushed a home run in the third, but nobody joined him. After Gasser departed, Milwaukee’s bullpen held the Padres scoreless over the final five innings.

A former Padres prospect did his job. San Diego’s veteran lineup did not. The Hader trade was a calculated gamble that produced real value for San Diego. It also produced Wednesday night for Milwaukee. Both can be true without dressing up the conclusion.

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