J.J. Hardy will settle in with his two young sons on Wednesday night to watch Milwaukee take on Los Angeles in NLCS Game 3, but the former Brewers shortstop did not realize how much of the club’s October battery traces back to his own exit from town. Robert Gasser is set to take the ball, William Contreras will catch him, and both arrived through a chain of deals that began when Milwaukee traded Hardy away nearly 17 years ago.
Key takeaways
- Gasser will start Game 3 for Milwaukee, with Contreras behind the plate against the Dodgers.
- Hardy’s 2009 trade to Minnesota brought Carlos Gómez to the Brewers and set off a long personnel trail.
- Josh Hader, acquired in the Gómez deal, was later dealt to San Diego for Gasser in 2022.
- Contreras joined Milwaukee in a December 2022 three-team transaction that included Esteury Ruiz.
- Hardy, now coaching his 10- and 8-year-old sons in suburban Phoenix, sees a confident club worth believing in.
A trade trail that kept paying off
Milwaukee drafted Hardy in the second round in 2001 out of Sabino High School in Tucson. Athletic pedigree ran through the family: his mother had been the country’s No. 2-ranked amateur golfer behind Nancy Lopez, while his father spent two years on the ATP Tour and reached No. 270 in the world rankings.
Hardy endured an uneven rookie season in 2005 and an injury-hit 2006, then became an NL All-Star in 2007. He hit at least 24 homers in both 2007 and 2008, posting a career-best .821 OPS in the latter season as the Brewers reached the postseason for the first time in 26 years. His 2009 struggles, a Minor League demotion and the arrival of prospect Alcides Escobar changed the picture, however.
On Nov. 6, 2009, Milwaukee sent Hardy to the Twins for Gómez. The center fielder became one of the club’s most dynamic players after manager Ron Roenicke gave him freer rein at the plate during the 2012 season. Gómez made back-to-back All-Star teams in 2013 and 2014, combining speed, defense, power and an unmistakable showman’s edge.
“If I paid to see a ballgame as a fan, I’d want to watch myself play,” Gómez said of his style. “Baseball is a game, and it is entertainment.”
By 2015, the Brewers were reshaping the roster and Gómez had become a prime deadline asset. A proposed deal with the Mets for Zack Wheeler and Wilmer Flores collapsed after medical concerns involving Gómez. Milwaukee scouts had already gathered for dinner in a private room at Carnevor when they saw Flores become emotional while playing shortstop during a Padres-Mets game, signaling that something unusual was unfolding.
“About an hour into dinner, Doug was over in the corner on the phone,” said Zack Minasian, then a Milwaukee scout and now the Giants’ general manager.
The Brewers pivoted quickly. On July 30, 2015, they traded Gómez, Mike Fiers and cash to Houston for Josh Hader, Adrian Houser, Brett Phillips and Domingo Santana. Santana developed into an Opening Day right fielder, Phillips brought energy to center field, and Houser became a dependable rotation option. Hader grew into the centerpiece, recording 125 saves for Milwaukee, second in franchise history behind Dan Plesac’s 133, while establishing himself as one of the game’s elite relievers.
Milwaukee moved Hader to San Diego on Aug. 1, 2022, receiving Gasser, Dinelson Lamet, Taylor Rogers and Ruiz. The immediate fallout was rough. Lamet was designated for assignment, Rogers finished with a 5.48 ERA, and the Brewers’ second-half slide left them out of the playoffs for the only time in the past nine seasons.
But Gasser remained in the organization’s long view. Tommy John surgery delayed his climb in 2024, yet he surged late this regular season and then helped finish off San Diego in the clinching Game 4 of the NLDS. Now he gets the Game 3 assignment in Los Angeles.
Milwaukee followed the Hader trade by winning four consecutive NL Central titles, increasing its regular-season victory total from 92 in 2023 to 93 in 2024, then franchise records of 97 in 2025 and 103 in 2026. The club continued to make difficult talent-for-prospect moves, dealing Corbin Burnes before the 2024 season, Devin Williams ahead of 2025 and Freddy Peralta before 2026.
Owner Mark Attanasio called the Hader trade a defining moment for the organization’s broader plan, saying fans had watched the club keep winning despite the changes and had embraced that approach.
Contreras became the other half of the answer
The Hader return produced another eventual route to this postseason pairing. On Dec. 12, 2022, Milwaukee sent Ruiz to Oakland and Manny Piña to Atlanta in a three-club deal for Joel Payamps, Justin Yeager and Contreras.
Contreras was just shy of his 25th birthday and already an All-Star when he left Atlanta. He initially wanted his agent to find a way to return him there. Instead, he found a lasting fit in Milwaukee, appearing in at least 141 games in each of his four regular seasons with the club and earning two more All-Star selections as the National League’s starting catcher.
When Pat Murphy was still Milwaukee’s bench coach, he asked Walt Weiss about Contreras and learned that the catcher required patience beneath his tough exterior.
“You have to keep peeling back layers,” Murphy was told.
That competitiveness was on display Monday, when Contreras became the fourth player to produce three postseason hits that either tied the game or put his team ahead in Game 3 of the NLCS. Murphy has said the catcher can be hard on himself, demanding of others and occasionally difficult to reach, but he values the fire that drives him.
“He is his own toughest critic,” Murphy said in July. “He can be tough to deal with at times, but he is a fierce competitor. I wish he trusted himself a little more. That may surprise people.”
Hardy understands the feeling. At the 2005 All-Star break, he was batting .187 and carrying plenty of uncertainty. Manager Ned Yost stayed committed to his young players, and Hardy answered with an .866 OPS after the break. He went on to make two All-Star teams and win three Gold Gloves across 13 Major League seasons.
Hardy had visited Brewers camp earlier this year and remains connected to the club as a fan. The realization that his trade helped form Milwaukee’s Game 3 pitcher-catcher combination caught him by surprise.
“Hold on,” Hardy said. “How did that happen?”
He remembers arriving in Milwaukee with Rickie Weeks and knowing the weight of a franchise that had endured too many losing seasons and too few playoff opportunities. Their 2008 Wild Card berth mattered deeply, and fans still tell Hardy that group helped change the direction of the organization.
“We probably did not think of it that way,” Hardy said. “But when people keep telling you that, eventually you have to accept it.”
His boys have been pulling on Brewers gear, socks included, to watch these playoffs with friends. And Hardy likes what he sees from the team whose path still runs through his own.
“It does feel that way,” he said. “With the confidence they have and the way they’re playing, you have to believe.”
