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Report: Brewers plan to listen to offers for Hader

Dilip Vishwanat / Getty Images Sport / Getty

The Milwaukee Brewers are planning to listen to trade offers for relief ace Josh Hader, sources told Robert Murray of FanSided.

Milwaukee is expected to seek a large return for Hader, who has been one of the top relievers in baseball for several seasons.

Adding some hitters - the Brewers were among MLB's worst offensive teams during the shortened 2020 season - is a priority for the club this winter, according to Murray. It's unknown whether Milwaukee might dangle Hader to try to bring in another big bat.

Hader is coming off a bit of a down campaign by his standards; though the two-time All-Star tallied an NL-best 13 saves, his 3.79 ERA and 0.95 WHIP were the highest marks of his four-year career. His fastball velocity also dipped slightly.

Still, the 26-year-old looked like his usual dominant self during much of this past season. Hader started 2020 with a record 12 straight hitless appearances and only gave up runs in four of his 21 outings, including two particularly poor games that accounted for six of the eight earned runs he allowed all year. He also ranked among the top 2% of pitchers in strikeout percentage and was in the bottom 1% in barrel percentage for a third straight year.

As a Super Two player, Hader has another three years of arbitration eligibility remaining, possibly making him more attractive to potential trade partners. He's projected by MLB Trade Rumors to earn around $5.1 million next year.

It's unclear which teams - if any - may have expressed interest in Hader during the early stages of the offseason. The New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers are among the clubs that have previously shown interest in him, sources told Murray.

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