Yankees: 3 salary-matching trades that can help NYY address needs

2. Yanks Finally Get Josh Hader From Brewers

Yankees fans have been dying for Josh Hader. So what about this deal?

The Milwaukee Brewers may have made the playoffs this past season, but they limped in with a 29-31 record and then got destroyed by the Los Angeles Dodgers. This team has pitching issues but could also look for a re-tool in some capacity to add some more veterans as well as young talent.

And their winning window is weird. Christian Yelich is the future, but beyond that, nobody is signed long-term. Perhaps they’re going for it in the short-term, and the Yankees can help them both now and down the road.

Let’s take a stab at this:

• Yankees acquire: Lorenzo Cain ($17 million) and Josh Hader (~$5.5 million)
• Brewers acquire: Aaron Hicks ($10.79 million) and Zack Britton ($13 million)

No prospects need to be included here. Cain is signed through the next two seasons and Hader through the next three. Hicks is under contract through 2025 and Britton, if the Yankees pick up his option, will be signed through 2022. So you’re losing one year of Hader in exchange for two years of Britton and an extra three years of Hicks (if you compare his deal to Cain’s). Not a bad deal if you ask us.

The Brewers get more experience and a more cost-effective option in the outfield. The Yankees get a contact bat (.288 career average) and base-stealer (48 swipes across 2018 and 2019) in Cain as well as another powerful lefty reliever in Hader to pair with Chapman in the back end of the bullpen.

It might not seem like a momentous swap with a clear gain/winner, but this offseason will be about the little changes, and an aggressive hitter like Cain could be the difference in this lineup for the next two years.