Brewers: 6 Of The Worst Brewers Trade Deadline Deals In The Last 10 Years

Brewers worst Trade Deadline deal of the last 10 years: #1 - LHP Josh Hader to the Padres for Taylor Rogers, Dinelson Lamet, Esteury Ruiz, and Robert Gasser

Yes, the Josh Hader trade comes in at number one. Although with the benefit of time, the trade is starting to look better. Spinning off Esteury Ruiz for WIlliam Contreras and Joel Payamps proved to be an excellent move to make the trade tree start to bear fruit, but that doesn't change what that deal was in the moment and the impact it had as a deadline deal.

The Brewers made this trade with an eye towards the future, unintentionally sabotaging the 2022 campaign. Milwaukee had a three game lead in the NL Central when the Deadline came. The Josh Hader Trade shook the clubhouse to its core and they never recovered from it. They quickly lost their division lead and missed out on the playoffs completely.

While the other trades on this list certainly didn't help the Brewers make the postseason, this trade actively hurt the Brewers in their hopes to make the postseason. That's exactly the opposite of what a Deadline deal should do for a first place team. That's why this trade remains top of this list.

To make matters worse, the Brewers didn't want any part of Dinelson Lamet, designating him for assignment 48 hours after acquiring him. One of the four pieces of the trade was already gone and he was lost for nothing. Taylor Rogers struggled with Milwaukee, giving up way more homers than usual and wasn't a reliable arm.

Esteury Ruiz was the only offensive player acquired by the Brewers that deadline and offense was the team's biggest need. The Brewers then refused to call upon Ruiz to help salvage the clubhouse morale and get some offensive production. The clubhouse only saw Hader go out and just Rogers come in, a clear downgrade. Ruiz was up for a few games in September, but wasn't given much run.

The simple fact is this trade is what sunk the 2022 Brewers. David Stearns admitted as much at the end of the season, although there were a couple other factors. But this group was rolling along fine until Hader was moved. None of the other trades sunk those teams.

The Hader trade is starting to look better with time because Ruiz was flipped in the offseason for Contreras and Payamps. Plus now the Padres are likely sellers at the Deadline this year. But none of that can change how bad this trade was for the Brewers when it was made. It was one of the worst trades in baseball history. Not many first place teams sell off their All Star closer at the Deadline and there's a reason for that. This trade is a reminder why.