A 29-year-old, hard throwing, left-handed closer is available in free agency. He is arguably the best reliever in baseball and has been for the past several seasons. Like all relievers, he’s acutely aware that at best he’ll get one big contract, and will use this offseason not just to set a positional record if he can, but set himself up for the rest of his life off one big deal.
We’re talking about Josh Hader, but we might also be talking about Aroldis Chapman. He was one year younger than Hader when he hit the market, coming off a World Series trophy and worth just under one full win more over the previous five seasons, but like Chapman, Hader is the best reliever in a relatively weak free agent pool.