Josh Hader, Astros agree to record five-year $95M deal, source says،
All-Star closer Josh Hader agreed to terms on a five-year, $95 million contract with the Houston Astros on Friday, significantly strengthening a team that has made seven straight appearances in the American League Championship Series , a source told ESPN's Jeff Passan.
The deal includes no carryovers, making it the largest ever for a relief pitcher in terms of current value. Edwin Diaz signed a five-year, $102 million contract with the New York Mets last offseason, but $26.5 million was carried over, giving him a current value of around $93 million. dollars.
The Astros' removal of Hader follows the announcement that Kendall Graveman, one of the team's key high-leverage relievers, would miss the entire 2024 season after undergoing shoulder surgery. Hader's presence in all likelihood means Ryan Pressly, who has racked up 90 saves over the past three years, will become the team's eighth-inning reliever, although Hader has shown versatility in handling various assignments early in the season. his career.
Regardless of how this plays out, the Astros, who return the vast majority of the squad that was one win short of last fall's World Series, will once again have a devastating starting backfield in Bryan Abreu and Rafael Montero also in the mix. Houston's signing of Hader has the dual effect of eliminating him as an option for its division rivals. The Texas Rangers, who beat the Astros in a hotly contested ALCS on their way to their first championship last year, were reportedly in the mix for Hader all offseason.
A member of the Astros' minor league system from 2013-15, Hader made an All-Star team in each of his five full seasons in the major leagues and established himself as arguably the best closer in the game. His 153 saves since the start of 2019 lead the majors. His 437 strikeouts over that five-year span are 59 more than the next closest reliever.
The 29-year-old southpaw did so by putting up a 2.60 ERA and 0.98 WHIP. His devastating combination of sinkers and sliders, thrown from a twitchy frame that helps maximize his deception, has earned him a career strikeout rate of 15.0, the highest in history among those who have accumulated in minus 50 innings.
Hader anchored bullpens for consistently overachieving Milwaukee Brewers teams before joining the San Diego Padres in a mid-season trade in the summer of 2022. The deal saw the Brewers acquire Esteury Ruiz, who was then used in another trade to land a standout receiver. William Contreras, but parting ways with Hader in the middle of another playoff series has become a controversial topic within the Brewers clubhouse. Hader helped the Padres reach the National League Championship Series later that fall, then had another stellar season for a star-laden Padres team that largely underperformed in 2023, posting an ERA of 1, 28 with 33 saves and 85 strikeouts in 56 1/3 innings.
Hader stood out from the start, not only for his electric talent, but also for his ability to throw multiple innings late in games. However, in recent years this has not been the case; Hader has recorded more than three outs in a single regular-season outing since 2019 and has generally been reluctant to do so, highlighting the danger of pitchers overextending themselves in the middle of a long season. It's unclear what impact securing his first major contract might have on his thinking.
Hader's deal comes with full trade protection and includes no opt-outs or opt-outs, a source familiar with the deal told Passan. He will receive $19 million per year and can collect an additional $1 million by winning the Reliever of the Year award, which he previously won in 2018, 2019 and 2021.
