Astros Place Josh Hader on 15-Day IL With Shoulder Strain
The Houston Astros will need to find a replacement for injured closer Josh Hader.
On Tuesday, the club placed Hader on the 15-day IL, retroactive to Aug. 11, due to a left shoulder strain. They also reinstated right-hander Shawn Dubin from the IL and recalled left-hander Colton Gordon from Triple-A while designating Hector Neris for assignment.
Hader went two innings in his latest outing on Aug. 8 versus the New York Yankees, throwing a season-high 36 pitches during his seventh multi-inning appearance of 2025. He seemed to be an option in Sunday’s finale after warming up in the bullpen, but he never entered the contest.
The 31-year-old wasn’t available on Monday against the Boston Red Sox after reporting shoulder soreness to team trainers, and it remains to be seen how much time he’ll ultimately spend on the shelf.
“He’s seeing doctors right now and we’re getting more tests done and hopefully this is not going to be a long-term thing,” manager Joe Espada told reporters Tuesday, including MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart.
Losing Hader is a massive blow for an Astros squad that enters Wednesday’s slate tied atop the AL West with the Seattle Mariners at 67-53.
The Astros haven’t revealed how they’ll handle save situations moving forward, but it’ll likely be closer-by-committee, with Bryan Abreu expected to assume most ninth-inning duties. He’s currently tied for fifth among major league relievers in strikeout rate (36.1 percent) this season, trailing Hader (36.9 percent), Edwin Díaz (37.4 percent), Aroldis Chapman (38 percent) and Mason Miller (41.5 percent).
Others likely to receive increased reps in high-leverage situations include left-handers Bryan King, Bennett Sousa and Steven Okert, as well as Dubin following his return from the IL.
“I feel good about all those guys,” Espada said. “For me, and I was talking to the relievers about this, Josh Hader and how successful he’s been, he needs guys to give him the ball with the lead. So all those guys have set him up to be the closer that he is. Not taking anything from Josh. Josh is probably the best, but you need guys to help him get to that point, and these guys are capable of doing that.”
Hader, who leads the majors with 215 saves since 2019, has remained a dominant closer during his second season of a five-year, $95-million contract with the Astros. Prior to landing on the IL, the six-time All-Star had earned a 2.05 ERA and 3.22 FIP while striking out over a third of his batters faced across 48 games.
The veteran southpaw has converted 28 of his 29 save situations this season, accounting for 1.1 fWAR – already one decimal point higher than last season’s rating over a career-high 71 appearances.
Replacing Hader will be extremely difficult for Houston’s staff, especially amidst this stretch run. All they can hope for now is to keep their heads above water until the All-Star closer returns, which, for the organization’s sake, needs to be sooner rather than later.
-Thomas Hall
Twitter: @Hall_Thomas_
Photo: Austin Thomas. This file is a work of a U.S. Army soldier or employee, taken or made as part of that person’s official duties. As a work of the U.S. federal government, it is in the public domain in the United States.