Losing Josh Hader for any amount of time is a blow to the Astros. Plain and simple. This is a bullpen that was arguably short a quality reliever or two in the first place. You know the bullpen isn’t in great shape when some fans online are tossing around the idea of bringing back Ryan Pressly, who the Cubs recently released. I’m still a huge fan, but one can’t override the unforgiving reality.
Talking about unforgiving reality, since July 1, Houston’s relief corps has been mediocre at best by most measures, even with Hader.
– ERA: 4.02 (16th)
– FIP: 4.82 (25th)
– SIERA: 3.73 (15th)
– BB%: 9.6% (21st)
– K%: 24.7% (5th)
– WAR: -0.2 (25th)
Except for strikeouts, the bullpen has been decidedly unimpressive. Once a strength through June, with arguably a top-three unit, it has gradually become a glaring weakness. Not having Hader for an indefinite amount of time will only put more stress on a pitching staff already feeling it. This team is weaker without one of the top closers in baseball to rely upon.
Until Hader returns later this season or into the next, Bryan Abreu will be the closer on this staff. That much is crystal clear. What happens before Abreu is up in the air.
The most obvious candidate to assume Abreu’s role as the eighth-inning/high-leverage option in the later innings is Bennett Sousa, and we did see him pitch the eighth inning in the Astros’ win over the Red Sox on Wednesday. How fortunate are the Astros that they have Sousa on the roster, by the way? A waiver claim in September 2023 from the Tigers, the left-hander had a brief run of success in 2023 before being lost all of 2024 due to thoracic outlet syndrome surgery. But his performance in his first full season with Houston (2.57 ERA, 2.44 FIP) has proven incredibly valuable. His development takes a little bit, but not much, of the sting from Hader’s IL stint, however long it is.
The rest of the depth chart does invite some doubt, though. Steven Okert has perhaps been a bit unlucky, although some regression in batted balls was due to him. Bryan King has had his issues lately. Héctor Neris had a 5.40 ERA and 5.94 FIP in 11 2/3 innings since July 1, but he is no longer on the roster after reaching ten years of service. Kaleb Ort and Shawn Dubin have had their moments, but relatively unproven. Enyel De Los Santos has some positive traits that could prove beneficial, but he’s also on his ninth organization. The continuous roster churn will likely move Jordan Weems off the roster again in due time.
Hader’s short-term status will help determine the ceiling of this bullpen for the rest of the season. Without him, though, the Astros will have to rely upon some unproven arms in different roles to help steady the ship. If it doesn’t work out, then the margin for error with late-inning leads will prove more stressful than before.