NL West Rival Pursuing Josh Hader This Winter

This would be less than ideal...

While the San Diego Padres have long been anticipating that they would lose All-Star closer Josh Hader this winter, they likely weren't expecting him to possibly stay close. He is likely to receive a strong payday on the open market, with San Diego not able to shell out the funds to keep him.

But MLB insider Tom Verducci of Sports Illustrated is reporting that the NL West rival Dodgers are looking into Hader. They have some extra spending money due to how Shohei Ohtani's contract was structured and possibly want to bolster the bullpen.

"They are expected to spend that money immediately—and possibly more—as they target free agent pitchers Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Josh Hader, according to a source familiar with their thinking."

Per Tom Verducci of Sports Illustrated

The team was always expected to lose Hader, but to have him stay in the NL West would be tough. And to have him head to the Dodgers would be even worse.

Hader was great for the Padres last season, posting an ERA of 1.28 and a WHIP of 1.10. He was a shutdown reliever at the end of games for this Padres team, which will be hard to replace. 

If Hader were to join the Dodgers, it would make competing in the division that much tougher for the Friars. LA was already the cream of the crop, but adding Ohtani and Hader, among others, would be difficult.

Of course, as the Padres learned last season, having a superteam doesn't guarantee anything. But the Dodgers have one of the better team foundations in all of baseball.

Hopefully, he doesn't end up staying in the NL West and cashes out somewhere else. The fate of the next few seasons for the Padres could be dependent on how this offseason plays out in Los Angeles.