The San Diego Padres have gone a long way to improve their team since the start of the 2022 season.
Losing Fernando Tatis Jr. to injury/suspension motivated them to find several upgrades at key spots.
They traded for Juan Soto and Josh Bell (the latter is not with the team anymore) and also brought in high-leverage reliever Josh Hader before last year’s deadline.
During the offseason, they added Xander Bogaerts and Nelson Cruz while re-signing reliever Robert Suarez.
The Hader trade initially didn’t look good, as he was struggling when he came over and didn’t fix his issues until well into his stint with the Padres.
By September, however, he was a beast, and was untouchable in the postseason.
As one of MLB’s top relievers in the last few years, everybody knew his arbitration salary in 2023 would be significant.
He and the Padres already settled on a number.
“Josh Hader and the Padres settled at $14.1 million, avoiding arbitration,” Padres insider Dennis Lin tweeted.
Josh Hader and the Padres settled at $14.1 million, avoiding arbitration.
— Dennis Lin (@dennistlin) January 13, 2023
The 28-year-old left-hander is in the last season of arbitration eligibility.
He will be a free agent when the 2023 World Series comes to a close.
Before that, however, he will earn a cool $14.1 million salary from the Padres as they try to get past the National League Championship Series.
During the 2022 regular season, Hader had a horrid 7.31 ERA with the Padres.
But he made the necessary adjustments and was a beast in October.
He didn’t allow any runs in 5.1 playoffs innings, with just a walk and 10 (!) strikeouts.
That’s the Hader we all know, and the one who is worth $14.1 million.
NEXT: MLB World Reacts To The Juan Soto Deal