Astros get chance to rectify 2015 mistake with deal for All-Star closer

The lefty spent two years pitching in the Astros' minor league system from 2013-15, making it as high as Double-A, before being dealt to the Brewers. The Astros used Hader primarily as a starter in the minors, as he went 10-3 with a 3.28 ERA, 1.18 WHIP and 136 strikeouts over 123 1/3 innings pitched covering 27 games (19 starts) in the two years.

Once the 29-year-old debuted with Milwaukee in 2017, he started coming out of the bullpen, and in 2018 (his first All-Star campaign) he shared closing duties with one-time All-Stars Corey Knebel and Jeremy Jeffress. Hader took over as the primary closer in 2019 and became one of the most elite relievers in MLB.

Despite holding a narrow lead in the NL Central at the time, the Brewers shipped off the southpaw to an all-in San Diego Padres team in August 2022 and that's when Hader suffered the worst stretch of his career. In 16 innings pitched over 19 regular season games with the Padres in 2022, Hader recorded just seven saves and posted a 7.31 ERA and 1.62 WHIP.

The three-time Trevor Hoffman NL Reliever of the Year Award recipient bounced back significantly in 2023, making his fifth All-Star team and registering a 1.28 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and 85 strikeouts with 33 saves over 61 games covering 56 1/3 innings.

While Hader turned out to be the biggest loss that Houston suffered in the fateful 2015 trade, the other three pieces made the deal a true steal for Milwaukee.

Starting pitcher Adrian Houser was traded to the New York Mets in December 2023 but up until then, he had put together five solid seasons as a middle-of-the-rotation arm for the Brewers. His best season came in 2021 when he went 10-6 with a 3.22 ERA and 1.27 WHIP, and he finished 2023 at 8-5 with a 4.12 ERA and 1.39 WHIP.

Outfielder Brett Phillips only spent parts of the 2017 and 2018 campaigns in Milwaukee, but he was part of a subsequent trade in 2018 that landed the Brewers infielder Mike Moustakas, who was an All-Star with the squad in 2019.

Outfielder Domingo Santana played three-plus seasons with Milwaukee from 2015-18 and mashed 30 home runs with 85 RBI and 15 steals in 2017.

On the Houston side, outfielder Carlos Gomez was an All-Star with the Brew Crew in 2013 and 2014 but struggled with the Astros before being released in August 2016. Starting pitcher Mike Fiers played with Houston for two-plus seasons from 2015-17 and is best known for being the source for insiders who first broke the Astros sign-stealing scandal story in 2019.