The Philadelphia Phillies are in, which is another way of saying that the Milwaukee Brewers are officially eliminated from postseason contention.
After a four-year stretch in which the Brew Crew made it to the postseason, twice as a Wild Card and twice winning the NL Central, the Brewers will be headed for the golf course this October.
And there’s one moment that everybody can point to when assessing the Brewers’ collapse.
At the end of July, they were ahead of the St. Louis Cardinals by a pretty comfortable margin.
But when the Josh Hader trade was made and they didn’t add anything else, everything went south for the Crew.
FOX Sports’ Ben Verlander called out the Brewers on Twitter, expressing that the front office is to blame for their second-half slide.
The Brewers had a 5 game lead in the NL Central and made an unacceptable trade at the deadline and added NO OFFENSE which they desperately needed. They got worse. Unacceptable.
Today the Brewers officially missed out on the playoffs entirely. The front office is to blame.
— Ben Verlander (@BenVerlander) October 4, 2022
The Trade That Deflated The Brewers
Had the Brewers added some more pieces after the Hader trade, then perhaps the deal would have made a little bit more sense.
However, they added nothing else.
The haul they received from the San Diego Padres was underwhelming at best.
Taylor Rogers never panned out for them, going 3-3 with a 5.48 ERA in 24 appearances and blowing three save opportunities.
The Hader trade clearly took the wind out of their sails and put them in a tailspin.
Everybody in the clubhouse was shellshocked.
The front office provided a lame excuse for making the trade as well.
The Brewers just never recovered from it.
While that was going on, the Cardinals added two major rotation pieces at the deadline, and as such, zoomed past the Brewers and ended up running away with the NL Central.
Now, the Brewers’ playoff hopes have been dashed, and it all goes back to that trade with the Padres.
NEXT: The Brewers Are So Close To Stealing A Playoff Spot
