Yankees still showing interest in acquiring All-Star reliever Josh Hader

Earlier this month reports surfaced that the Yankees were interested in acquiring All-Star reliever Josh Hader and were considered the most active team pursuing him. A couple of weeks later the Yanks are apparently still in contact with Milwaukee and could offer a package headlined by third baseman Miguel Andujar.

According to Jon Heyman of MLB Network teams still aren’t convinced the Brewers will actually trade Hader, but that might not stop the Yankees from making a strong offer.

Miguel Andujar’s name has been floating around in trade rumors all offseason because he’s become expendable after Gio Urshela emerged as an All-Star caliber third basemen in his absence last season. Even though last season was a step back for Andujar his future is still very bright and the Brewers are in need of an upgrade at third base after the departure of Mike Moustakas. Miggy would certainly fit right in as their third baseman of the future.

The Yankees might be willing to trade Miggy if they can get a pitcher as dominant as Hader in return, but it’s going to take more than just him to get a deal done. Hader is under team control through 2023 and he’s been the best reliever in baseball over the last two seasons so it’s going to cost the Yankees or any other interested team a ton.

As good as Hader is I’m not sure this is a move the Yankee should pursue if the cost to get him includes Miggy in addition to one of their top prospects. His role with the club heading into next season is unclear at the moment but he still projects to make a big impact as long as he’s healthy. There are ways the Yanks can get him consistent at-bats now that Didi is gone so I don’t understand why they would trade him to add on to a bullpen that is already great.

If they want to keep adding to the bullpen why don’t they just bring Dellin Betances back? Dellin is coming off an injury-plagued campaign of his own but when he’s healthy he’s been just as good of a reliever as Hader has been and all it would cost the Yankees to bring him back is money. It would also likely only be for a one-year deal in the $8-$10M range.

With Hader, we know the asking price would be huge but there are also concerns about all the wear and tear he’s been through over the past couple of seasons. That could be why the Brewers are even taking calls on him because they might believe he has a shelf life as Joel Sherman of the New York Post recently suggested. He’s been pushed so hard these past two seasons so why not maximize his value now and trade him to another team for a huge haul before he ends up regressing while he’s still a member of their team.

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Despite the concerns regarding Hader’s long term health and production, there’s no doubt adding him to the Yankee pitching staff next season would increase their World Series odds on paper. However, I think if they trade Miggy to get him it could come back to haunt the Yanks as next season progresses and in the years that follow.

Besides the fact that he’s younger than Hader and under team control for just as long there’s also no guarantee Gio Urshela will be that same player in 2020 as he was last season. And we all know there’s no guarantee the rest of the Yankee roster will be able to stay healthy. You can never have too much depth and the Yankees depth would take a big hit if they traded Miggy. Even more so if he proves to be capable of playing multiple positions like first base and left field.

The farm system would take a big hit as well because again if the Yankees want to acquire Hader it’s probably going to cost them Miggy and one of their top pitching prospects as well. Hader is outstanding but I’m just not sure he’s worth that type of investment when you really dissect what this Yankee roster needs heading into 2020.