5 free agents Perry Minasian must convince Arte Moreno to avoid this offseason

4. Josh Hader

If Shohei Ohtani leaves, there's a good chance Arte Moreno will want to bring in a flashy player. Relievers aren't flashy mostly, but Josh Hader is a rare exception. The hard-throwing lefty is one of, if not the best reliever in the game. Adding him would certainly qualify as a splash.

I personally love to watch Josh Hader. His unorthodox delivery makes him so hard for hitters to have success against, and his wipeout stuff is hard to beat. The problem with him is he's a reliever, and relievers can be extremely volatile. Even the good ones. Even Hader!

Hader's 2022 season is a prime example that any given season can spiral out of control for any reliever. He did not allow a run through his first 19 appearances and 17.2 innings pitched that season. Over his next 18 appearances before being traded from the Brewers to the Padres, he was a completely different pitcher posting an 8.82 ERA, taking four losses, and blowing two saves.

Those struggles continued with the Padres as he posted a 7.31 ERA in 19 regular season appearances. He was better in the postseason that year, but Hader really went half the season being untouchable, and then another half being incapable of recording outs. You literally never know what you're going to get from a reliever in any season with rare exceptions.

There's a good chance Hader will top the five-year deal Edwin Diaz got from the Mets that was worth $102 million. I'm not saying he's not worth it, but the Angels paying a reliever that kind of money for that long when they've got other bigger needs to worry about with how volatile relievers are would more likely than not be a massive waste.