Padres Rumors: Josh Hader ‘Absolutely’ Wants to Return to San Diego in Free Agency

The Padres could use his services moving forward.

As the offseason starts for the San Diego Padres, they have some big questions to answer. Not only do they need to figure out exactly what went wrong this season, but they have some big free-agent decisions to make, as well.

Both starting pitcher Blake Snell and closer Josh Hader will be free agents, and it’s likely that both guys end up leaving San Diego. Snell seems more likely to leave, but Hader will probably get a bigger offer from somewhere else, too.

That doesn’t mean, however, that the veteran closer doesn’t want to stay with the Padres. Hader spoke about his upcoming free agency and made it clear that he would be open to staying in San Diego.

"Absolutely," Hader said. "We love this place. We love the fans, you can see the support that they gave us all season, last season too. And these guys. It [was] a fun season and a fun year and half that I’ve been here and my family and I have enjoyed it. Like I’ve said, we’ll see what happens."

Per Josh Hader via Marty Caswell MartyTimeTV YouTube Channel

After coming over from the Milwaukee Brewers last year at the trade deadline, Hader has been one of the mainstays in the San Diego bullpen. He put together another dominant season and should get paid well this offseason.

He put up an ERA of 1.28 and a WHIP of 1.10 over 61 games played this season. Hader also struck out 85 batters over 56.1 innings and had 33 saves on the year.

"Obviously there were a lot of expectations for us at the start of the year. Hopefully next year we can bring some of these guys back and we’ll make a run at it again, we’ll see what the front office has in mind. I think that, if you put this team in the same situation next year, I think it’s probably a very different outcome."

Per Josh Hader via Marty Caswell MartyTimeTV YouTube Channel

While most don't see Hader returning, he would be valuable for this team moving forward. It's unlikely that they see the same poor results next season, and he would give them a reliable option out of the bullpen.

It sure sounds like Hader wants to return to San Diego next year. Now the ball is in their court to make a deal happen.