Checking in on the Padres' decision to not re-sign Josh Hader

Over the past few years, the Padres have been known for their flashy free agent signing and blockbuster trades. The front office has made it very clear that when a superstar is available to be acquired, they will be in on the bidding war.

That's why when San Diego elected to let Hader walk in free agency it was a surprise to many and he would eventually sign with the Houston Astros. Now, over two months into the season, it's a good time to reflect on whether or not the Padres made the right decision.

As of now, Hader is the second highest-paid relief pitcher in MLB, making an average annual salary of $19M (per Spotrac). With the Padres looking to shed payroll last offseason, it could never match that salary, but for the World Series favorite Astros, it seemed like a smart move. After all, Hader is a five-time All-Star and three-time Trevor Hoffman National League Reliever of the Year. 

If Hader could continue that same success then the Astros, combined with their offensive firepower and great starting pitchers could be the most well-rounded team in MLB.

However, that's not how things have gone as Hader has a 4.50 ERA, 1.200 WHIP and just six saves despite having 20 innings pitched. That's certainly not up to par with his 2023 season where his ERA was all the way down at 1.28 and had 33 saves in 56.1 innings.

Those numbers make Padres GM A.J. Preller look like a genius for passing on Hader and instead inking relief pitcher Robert Suarez to a five-year $46M deal to take over the role as the closing pitcher. 

He's a perfect 13 for 13 in save opportunities while having the third-best ERA (0.44), tied for second-most saves, third-best batting average against (.134) and the second-best WHIP (0.64) among relief pitchers with at least 20 innings (per FanGraphs)

So far Suarez has given the Friars the kind of production you'd expect from someone making much more than $9.2M a year. 

Even if Hader does turn things around and becomes as dominant as years past, there's no denying that the Padres front office made a tough yet smart decision when deciding who it wanted to be its closing pitcher.