AL Powerhouse Tabbed 'Ideal' Free Agent Spot for Josh Hader

One of the best free agents left on the open market is former San Diego Padres closer Josh Hader. Hader had a great year with San Diego in 2023 and is in line for a massive payday this offseason.

He is looking for a record contract for a reliever, which has caused his market to shrink a little bit. Hader is looking for a larger deal than the five-year, $102 million deal Edwin Díaz signed with the New York Mets last offseason.

There have only been a few teams linked with Hader this winter, including the Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Yankees and Texas Rangers. Each one of these teams could use Hader, but it remains to be seen who will actually land him.

Bleacher Report's Joel Reuter created an ideal landing spot for many of the top free agents left on the market. They had Josh Hader landing with the defending World Series champion, Rangers.

Landing Spot: Texas Rangers, Contract: Five years, $105 million

"If they do still decide to make a splash in pursuit of defending their World Series crown, there is not a more obvious target than All-Star closer Josh Hader."

Per Joel Reuter of Bleacher Report

The Rangers could use Hader to shore up their bullpen to help them go after a second consecutive title. He would give them a trusted pitcher at the end of games and would fix some of the problems in the pen.

While the bullpen was great in the postseason, they had some issues throughout the regular season. This would be a move by Texas to ensure that the issues from last year are a thing of the past.

"The Rangers bullpen finished 24th in the majors with a 4.77 ERA while converting just 30 of 63 save opportunities during the regular season, and trade-deadline pickup Aroldis Chapman is now a free agent, leaving Jose Leclerc, Josh Sborz and Yates as the team's current late-inning contingent."

Per Joel Reuter of Bleacher Report

This would be a power move by the defending champions, but a needed one at that. Hader would bring his dominance to Texas, and they'd feel much better about their chances to repeat.