Updated Post – Jan. 19 at 3:08 PM
Jeff Passan of ESPN reports the Houston Astros have signed star closer Josh Hader. The deal is for five years, $95 million, and has no deferrals, making it the largest present-day value contract for a relief pitcher in baseball history. Edwin Díaz signed a five-year, $102 million deal with the New York Mets last offseason, but the deal has $26.5 million deferred, bringing down the present-day value.
Hader, 29, posted a 1.28 ERA and struck out 36.8% of the batters he faced last season with the San Diego Padres.
The Astros bullpen now includes Hader, Ryan Pressly, and Bryan Abreu at the back end.
Original Post – Jan. 18 at 4:13 PM
Ken Rosenthal and Chandler Rome of The Athletic report that the Houston Astros are making a “push” to sign star reliever Josh Hader. The 29-year-old is looking to break the reliever contract record that Edwin Díaz set last offseason when he agreed to a five-year, $102 million deal with the Mets.
Hader was actually in the Astros farm system for almost two years after being traded by the Baltimore Orioles with outfielder L.J. Hoes and a competitive balance pick to the Astros for pitcher Bud Norris near the 2013 trade deadline. Almost exactly two years later, Hader was traded with pitcher Adrian Houser, outfielder Brett Phillips, and outfielder Domingo Santana to the Brewers for outfielder Carlos Gómez, pitcher Mike Fiers, and cash.
In 56 1/3 innings pitched last season for the Padres, Hader allowed just eight runs all season, which was good for a 1.28 ERA. He also struck out 36.8% of all batters faced, a low mark for him in relation to the rest of his career, and saved 33 games as opposed to just five blown saves. This made him an easy choice to represent the National League in the All-Star game, the fifth All-Star nod of his seven-year career.
The left-hander posted a 2.48 ERA, 125 saves, and struck out a ridiculous 541 batters in 316 innings during parts of six seasons with the Brewers from 2017 through the 2022 trade deadline.
