Astros Notes: Altuve, Brown, Hader
Astros second baseman Jose Altuve left tonight’s game against the Rangers with an apparent left side injury. Facing Cal Quantrill in the bottom of the eighth inning, Altuve grounded a ball to the left side but did not run to first, instead grabbing his left side and walking toward the dugout. The result was an easy double play. Altuve was later seen walking out of the dugout with the team’s trainer. Nick Allen replaced him at the keystone in the ninth inning.
Manager Joe Espada told Brian McTaggart of MLB.com and others that Altuve will undergo imaging tomorrow. It’s too early to say whether he’ll need time on the injured list, though it wouldn’t be a surprise to see a cautionary IL placement given Altuve’s age. He is now 36 and in his 16th season in the Majors. Altuve previously went on the IL in August 2023 with left oblique discomfort, missing three weeks. His two other left side-related IL placements were in April 2022 and May 2019. Both were for left hamstring strains.
Although he’s still a veteran leader for the Astros, Altuve is no longer the hitter he was at his peak. By wRC+, he was at least 24% better than the average hitter in every season from 2014-24, with the exception of the COVID-shortened 2020 season. Altuve slipped to a 113 wRC+ in 2025, which was still above average, just no longer All Star-worthy. The early returns in 2026 have been worse, with Altuve’s .245/.328/.365 line now being 3% below average.
That hardly makes him a bad player, but it does make him one of the weaker hitters in an otherwise strong offense. Yordan Alvarez is dominating with 14 home runs and a 190 wRC+. Christian Walker is having a resurgence after a poor introduction to Houston in 2025. Isaac Paredes is hitting well, and so was Carlos Correa before he underwent season-ending ankle surgery. In contrast, Altuve is the sole veteran of the group who is below league average at the plate.
Whether or not he needs to miss time, a healthy and productive Altuve will be crucial to the team’s performance this year. The Astros are at 19-28 including tonight’s victory, which leaves them in fourth place in the NL West. The biggest culprit for their poor start has been a slew of pitching injuries, with ace Hunter Brown, Christian Javier, and closer Josh Hader all currently on the shelf. Offseason signee Tatsuya Imai also missed time with right arm fatigue, and while he’s healthy now, he has a 9.24 ERA in four starts.
Returning to respectability will require the offense to remain a strength and the pitchers’ health and performance to improve dramatically. Fortunately, the starting rotation may be closer to getting a key reinforcement. Espada said that Brown is set to throw a final live batting practice on Tuesday (link via McTaggart). Assuming no issues there, he will begin a rehab assignment soon after.
Brown made two starts before landing on the IL on April 5th with a right shoulder strain. He was projected for a 5-7 week rehab period as of April 19th, and he was formally transferred to the 60-day IL on May 9th. That makes Brown eligible to return in early June, perhaps during the June 5-7 home series against the Athletics. He’d be in line for at least three rehab starts if Houston wants to bring him back as soon as possible, though they do have up to 30 days for Brown’s rehab assignment. Whatever the case, the Astros’ rotation will massively benefit from Brown’s return if he continues his performance from last year, when he had a 2.43 ERA and finished third in AL Cy Young voting.
As for Hader, he will need five more rehab appearances according to McTaggart. Hader started the year on the IL with left biceps tendinitis, transferring to the 60-day IL in mid-April. In 52 2/3 innings last year, he was his usual excellent self. Hader posted a 2.05 ERA and a 29.1% strikeout to walk differential that ranked fifth among qualified relievers. As with Brown, Hader is expected to return in early June according to the team’s injury report on MLB.com. That will go a long way toward boosting the Astros’ bullpen, whose 5.81 ERA is dead last in the Majors.
Photo courtesy of Erik Williams, Imagn Images
Astros Transfer Josh Hader To 60-Day IL
The Astros announced that they have selected right-hander Peter Lambert, a move that was reported yesterday. To open an active roster spot, they have optioned right-hander Christian Roa to Triple-A Sugar Land. In a corresponding 40-man move, left-hander Josh Hader has been transferred to the 60-day injured list.
Hader began the season on the 15-day injured list due to biceps tendinitis, an issue that prevented him from pitching in spring training. His 60-day count is retroactive to that initial IL placement, so he can be reinstated from the IL in late May.
Up until this transfer, his timing wasn’t exactly clear. Earlier this week, he faced live hitters in batting practice for the first time. He told Brian McTaggart of MLB.com that this essentially places him at the beginning of a normal spring training ramp-up. At some point, he will start a minor league rehab assignment, which will effectively replace the spring training games he missed.
Given that timeline, it was possible to imagine him potentially being ready by the middle of May. Pitchers normally ramp up for about six weeks in spring but relievers tend to be ready quicker because they don’t need to be stretched out. This move means the Astros will play things safer than that. Rehab assignments for pitchers can last 30 days, so Hader could start one in a week or so if he’s feeling good, and that could line up with his eligibility for activation.
Hader’s injury is just one of many for the Astros. They currently have 13 players on the IL, including 10 pitchers. Some of those are due to issues going back to last year but Hunter Brown, Cristian Javier, Tatsuya Imai and Cody Bolton have hit the IL in the past few weeks. That has put more pressure on the arms who are still on the roster. Ideally, Bryan Abreu would have stepped up and replaced Hader in the closer’s role, since he has been so good in recent seasons. Unfortunately, he has allowed nine earned runs through 6 1/3 innings this year.
Thanks in part to those challenges on the pitching staff, the Astros are out to a rough 8-12 start. They will need to keep things afloat in the near term while their injured pitchers get healthy and back in the mix, though they can’t count on Hader proving anything until more than a month into the future.
Photo courtesy of Troy Taormina, Imagn Images
Astros Notes: Brown, Hader, Bullpen
The Astros provided an update on injured ace Hunter Brown on Tuesday, noting that the righty has been diagnosed with a Grade 2 shoulder strain. The club said he’ll be shut down from throwing for a few weeks.
Manager Joe Espada provided a little more specificity in his pregame media session with the Houston beat (link via Matt Kawahara of The Houston Chronicle). The skipper said Brown would be reevaluated in two weeks. Espada and GM Dana Brown stressed that there’s nothing structurally amiss and that the issue is muscular.
That’s a relief, but it’s still trending towards more than a monthlong absence. Even if Brown is able to resume throwing two weeks from now, he’ll need to recover from a few bullpen and live batting practice sessions. A multi-week shutdown is going to require one or two minor league rehab starts as well.
The Astros are sticking with their plan to move to a six-man rotation after tomorrow’s off day. They’ll play on 13 straight days beginning this weekend. The six-man staff will keep Tatsuya Imai on a weekly schedule and allow them to keep an eye on workloads for their back-end arms.
Imai joins Mike Burrows, Cristian Javier and Lance McCullers Jr. in the top four of Espada’s rotation. Cody Bolton made a spot start on Monday against the Rockies, stepping into Brown’s schedule when the latter was placed on the injured list over the weekend. Bolton could get continued run out of the rotation. Spencer Arrighetti is working out of the Triple-A rotation. Ryan Weiss, AJ Blubaugh, and Kai-Wei Teng are all pitching in relief but have starting backgrounds.
Espada provided a few more encouraging updates on rehabbing pitchers this evening (relayed by Chandler Rome of The Athletic). The most notable is that closer Josh Hader, out all season with biceps tendinitis, is expected to face hitters for the first time next week. Depth starter Nate Pearson will throw a two-inning simulated game this weekend.
Houston’s bullpen has been shaky in Hader’s absence. Fill-in closer Bryan Abreu has allowed at least one run in each of his first four appearances. Abreu has only successfully locked down one of his three save opportunities this year. That came with a three-run lead and still required him to rebound from a Roman Anthony home run. Abreu took the loss in his most recent outing, giving up a walk-off three-run homer to Brent Rooker in the tenth inning on Sunday.
Bryan King and Steven Okert give the Astros a pair of quality left-handers. Abreu has a track record as a high-end setup man. Even if he gets on track, he’s a better fit earlier in games as a leverage arm given the Astros’ lack of established righty relievers. Blubaugh has been pushed up the bullpen hierarchy early in his big league career as a result.
Astros Notes: Hader, Peña, Extensions
Astros closer Josh Hader opened the season on the 15-day injured list after experiencing biceps tendinitis during spring training. Fans hoping for a minimum stint will have to wait a bit longer than that. General manager Dana Brown told the team’s beat today that the target is for Hader to begin facing hitters at some point in mid-April (link via Brian McTaggart of MLB.com). He’d presumably then need to make at least a couple appearances on a minor league rehab stint before rejoining the club. A return in late April seems like a best-case scenario, speculatively speaking.
Hader missed the final seven weeks or so of the 2025 campaign after suffering a capsule strain in his left shoulder. There’s no indication the shoulder is still bothering him at this stage. He’s one of four Houston relievers to open the season on the shelf, joining fellow lefty Bennett Sousa and righties Enyel De Los Santos and Nate Pearson. Sousa is dealing with an oblique strain. De Los Santos was slowed by a knee strain during camp. Pearson had offseason elbow surgery.
With Hader sidelined to begin the season, closing duties will fall to Bryan Abreu, who’s been one of the best (if not the best) setup men in baseball in recent seasons. Bryan King and Steven Okert had strong 2025 seasons and will serve as key setup men. It’s a patchwork group behind them. Rule 5 pick Roddery Munoz made the Opening Day roster. Ryan Weiss, who signed a big league deal after a breakout in South Korea, will make his MLB debut the first time he gets into a game. Christian Roa was a minor league signee. Kai-Wei Teng was acquired in a trade after being squeezed off the Giants’ roster. He has a 7.30 ERA in 40 2/3 MLB innings. AJ Blubaugh was tagged for a 5.27 ERA in 19 Triple-A starts last year.
The ‘Stros did get at least some good injury news recently Star shortstop Jeremy Peña managed to avoid an IL stint to begin the season despite suffering a small fracture in his finger during WBC exhibition play. He’s not in the Opening Day lineup, however. A team spokesperson tells Chandler Rome of The Athletic that Peña is getting some live at-bats over at the Astros’ Triple-A complex in Sugar Land this morning. The implication seems to be that while Peña won’t be out for a full 10 days, he needs a few more reps and/or a bit more healing before the team is comfortable plugging him into the big league lineup.
With Peña out, the oft-discussed Astros infield “logjam” has sorted itself out for at least Opening Day. Carlos Correa gets the nod at shortstop, while Isaac Paredes slots in at the hot corner. Jose Altuve and Christian Walker are on the right side of the infield, and Yordan Alvarez is at designated hitter. The team hasn’t indicated when Peña might return to the lineup, but with Houston facing lefties in three of their next four starts (Yusei Kikuchi tomorrow, Reid Detmers on Saturday, Ranger Suárez on Monday), they’ll hope to have their shortstop back in the fold; Peña is a career .302/.343/.469 hitter (128 wRC+) against left-handed pitching.
Both Peña and the aforementioned Abreu are nearing free agency. Abreu is in his final year of club control and will reach the open market at season’s end. Peña is controlled through 2027, as is Paredes. Ace Hunter Brown is controlled through 2028. Asked about the possibility of an extension for anyone on the roster, Brown said this morning that the club has had only internal discussions about potential long-term deals (via Chron.com’s Michael Shapiro).
“We haven’t really discussed at length with any of our players,” he said when asked to clarify whether any of those internal talks have extended into talks with various players’ representatives.
Brown has often voiced a desire to sign various core players to long-term arrangements, but since he was hired as general manager, right-hander Cristian Javier is the lone player to do so. There have surely been other efforts to come to terms with some of Javier’s teammates, but owner Jim Crane tends to shy away from long-term contracts in general. The six-year deals given to Yordan Alvarez and Jose Altuve are the longest in Crane’s 15 years owning the team. Alex Bregman, whose original Astros extension was $100MM over five years, is the only other Houston player to sign a nine-figure deal in that time. Hader’s $95MM deal is quite close, obviously, and the Astros have made nine-figure offers to keep both Bregman and Correa in free agency. Both found larger deals elsewhere.
Of course, not all of the listed players would necessarily command $100MM+. Abreu, good as he is, would fall shy of that. The Astros have talked more about trading Paredes than extending him. But to have any hope of signing Peña or Brown to a long-term deal — be it via extension or simply re-signing them in free agency — Houston would need to stretch well beyond Crane’s prior comfort levels.
Astros Finalize Opening Day Roster
The Astros finalized their Opening Day roster, most notably announcing that shortstop Jeremy Pena will avoid a season-opening trip to the injured list. Catcher César Salazar was designated for assignment, clearing a 40-man roster spot for Christian Vázquez, whose contract has been selected from Triple-A Sugar Land. Houston also selected right-hander Christian Roa‘s contract and opened a 40-man spot by placing lefty Brandon Walter on the 60-day IL while he recovers from UCL surgery. Houston also optioned outfielder Zach Cole to Triple-A, while prospect Brice Matthews makes the cut.
Outfielder Zach Dezenzo will open the season on the 10-day IL due to a right elbow sprain. Righty Ronel Blanco (recovering from Tommy John surgery), left-hander Josh Hader (biceps tendinitis), righty Enyel De Los Santos (right knee strain), lefty Bennett Sousa (oblique strain), right-hander Nate Pearson (recovering from elbow surgery) and right-hander Hayden Wesneski (recovering from Tommy John surgery) are all opening the year on the 15-day IL. Blanco and Wesneski will be 60-day IL candidates whenever Houston next needs a 40-man roster spot.
Pena’s status was up in the air after he suffered a fracture on the tip of his finger while fielding a grounder during an exhibition contest earlier this spring. He resumed hitting earlier this week, however, and has been deemed healthy enough to break camp with the club.
Vázquez’s selection to the big league roster was already known, as was the fact that Salazar wouldn’t make the team. Today’s DFA doesn’t necessarily mean that the ‘Stros won’t be able to find a trade partner. He can still be swapped out to another club within the next five days if another team is willing to put him on its 40-man roster.
Salazar, 30, has 67 MLB plate appearances to his name and has batted .232/.318/.268. He spent the bulk of the 2025 season in Triple-A, where he hit .213/.353/.353. He’s regarded as a solid defender but not the same extent as the veteran Vázquez, so Houston — as they’ve done in the past with Martin Maldonado — will opt for a plus defender as their backup catcher even if it means rostering one of the lightest-hitting players in the game.
Roa, 26, made his MLB debut with Miami last season and tossed three shutout innings. He’s a former Reds and Marlins farmhand who had a dominant spring with Houston after signing a minor league deal in December. He tossed 9 2/3 innings of one-run ball during Grapefruit League play and punched out 36% of his opponents without issuing a walk. Between that and last year’s 2.83 ERA in 60 1/3 Triple-A frames, he could be a nice under-the-radar pickup for the Astros.
Cole looked to be in strong position to make the club entering camp, but Houston reacquired Joey Loperfido to give them another lefty option in the outfield. Cole slashed .200/.340/.400 in 50 spring plate appearances, and the alarming contact issues that plagued him last year weren’t any better in March. After going down on strikes in 35% of his minor league plate appearances and 38.5% of his big league plate appearances in 2025, Cole punched out in 20 of his 50 turns at the plate this spring (40%).
Cole has obvious power and speed but will need to make more contact if he’s to carve out a a lasting role. Add in a handful of lefty opponents for Houston early in the season, and the right-handed-hitting Matthews will get the nod to begin the year. Matthews is a former first-round pick who slashed .250/.400/.417 this spring. He struggled in a brief MLB debut last year but hit .260/.371/.458 in Triple-A. While Matthews was drafted as a shortstop, the Astros’ glut of infielders has pushed him into outfield duty.
Josh Hader To Begin Season On Injured List
Star Astros closer Josh Hader will begin the 2026 season on the 15-day injured list, manager Joe Espada announced to the team’s beat this morning (via Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle). He’s been slowed by a biceps issue this spring after missing the final seven weeks of the 2025 season due to a capsule strain in his shoulder. Hader has progressed to throwing and pitched an encouraging bullpen session yesterday, Kawahara adds, but the team simply won’t have enough time to get him built up before the season begins. Righty Bryan Abreu will very likely be in line to close games for Houston while Hader is shelved.
Hader’s Opening Day status has been an ongoing question throughout camp. Both the left-hander himself and team officials have repeatedly expressed optimism about the manner in which he’s progressing through rehab while simultaneously declining to commit to an Opening Day timetable.
While it’s an obvious blow to the Astros’ early-season fortunes, it’s still relatively good news. There’s no indication that last year’s shoulder injury has carried over into the 2026 season, nor does it seem the biceps injury is particularly nefarious. The Astros’ track record when it comes to framing player injuries is worth keeping in mind, but to this point it seems there’s hope for Hader to be back in Espada’s bullpen relatively early in the season.
Abreu, 29 in April, is among the stronger fallback options any team has for its closer in all of baseball. The 6’1″, 230-pound flamethrower owns a masterful 2.30 earned run average across his past four seasons in Houston. He’s punched out at least 31.7% of his opponents in each of those four seasons and 34.3% overall. Abreu’s 10.4% walk rate could stand to improve, but he’s proven so adept at missing bats that the slightly elevated walk rate hasn’t been a real issue for him. Abreu sat 97.3 mph on his four-seamer last season, and his 16.6% swinging-strike rate since 2022 ranks sixth among the 280 big league pitchers who’ve tossed at least 200 innings in that time (trailing only Hader, Andrés Muñoz, Dylan Lee, Devin Williams and Ryan Helsley).
As for Hader, an exact target date for his return remains up in the air. His 2025 season was shaping up to be one of his best. Prior to his injury, that lanky southpaw tossed 52 2/3 innings with a 2.05 ERA, a 36.9% strikeout rate, a 7.8% walk rate (second-lowest in his career) and 28 saves in 29 opportunities. He’s entering the third season of a five-year, $95MM contract signed prior to the 2024 campaign.
Josh Hader Still Uncertain For Astros’ Opening Day Roster
A bout of biceps inflammation in late January set Josh Hader back in his offseason prep, and has continued to limit the Astros closer during Spring Training. Hader’s throwing has been limited to games of catch, and Astros manager Joe Espada told reporters (including the Houston Chronicle’s Matt Kawahara) that Hader would continue on this route through the week.
Espada didn’t provide any clarity on when Hader might start to increase his throwing progression, or whether or not the left-hander might not be available for Opening Day. “I think we still have a little bit more time. Once we start getting down to that we’ll talk more on that, but right now it’s still premature just to see where we’re at by March 26,” Espada said.
Because Hader is a relief pitcher built for a limited workload, he naturally doesn’t require as much ramp-up as a starter. In each of the last three years, however, Hader has made at least six appearances in Spring Training games, and matching that number may be difficult given that we’re less than a month away from Houston’s first regular-season contest.
The biceps injury comes on the heels of a more serious injury setback for Hader, as a left capsule sprain prematurely ended his season last August. Surgery wasn’t required, and after completing a throwing program in November, Hader said that he expected to be ready for Spring Training. That might have well been the case, if it wasn’t for the biceps inflammation that again put Hader on the sidelines.
Bryan Abreu covered the majority of save chances when Hader was on the injured list last season, so Abreu would probably be Houston’s top choice as interim closer if Hader needs a 15-day IL stint to begin the 2026 campaign. While Abreu has more than proven himself capable of high-leverage work, obviously removing a star closer like Hader from the equation weakens the bullpen depth chart as a whole.
If Hader is absent, it will put more of a spotlight on the rest of the Astros’ relief corps, from both a quality and health perspective. To the latter point, Enyel De Los Santos has started throwing again and Espada said the right-hander should start working off the mound by next week.
De Los Santos picked up a right knee strain early in camp, but it appears as though the strain ended up being fairly minor. The missed time in camp may not have much impact on De Los Santos’ availability for Opening Day, as Espada said that since De Los Santos pitched in winter ball, the righty might be able to rebuild his arm strength in fairly short order.
De Los Santos signed with Houston last August and pitched pretty well down the stretch, posting a 4.03 ERA, 6.6% walk rate, and 26.4% strikeout rate over 22 1/3 innings in an Astros uniform. He avoided arbitration with the Astros by agreeing to a one-year, $1.6MM deal for the 2026 season, giving the 30-year-old a bit of stability after already playing for eight different teams over the course of his seven MLB seasons.
Astros Notes: Hader, Diaz, Trade Market
Astros closer Josh Hader is behind schedule in camp after imaging revealed biceps inflammation a couple weeks ago, manager Joe Espada told the team’s beat as camp opened this morning (link via Chandler Rome of The Athletic). Espada added that Hader has already been resting for the past 10 days or so and is scheduled to resume throwing from flat ground today. Hader himself told reporters that he felt “pretty good” after his brief shutdown (video via MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart). He acknowledged being a “probably a few weeks behind” due to the minor setback. Hader didn’t rule out Opening Day but also declined to put a firm timetable on his rehab.
The 31-year-old lefty (32 in April) is entering the third season of a five-year, $95MM contract in 2026. Hader enjoyed a decent first season in Houston and a dominant second campaign; overall, he’s pitched to a 3.06 earned run average while striking out a colossal 37.4% of opponents against a roughly average 8.5% walk rate. He’s picked up 62 saves along the way. Bryan Abreu would be the top candidate for saves early in the season if Hader were to miss time.
Elsewhere in the Houston bullpen, righty Enyel De Los Santos is current shut down from throwing for a couple days due to a strain in his right knee (via McTaggart). The 30-year-old De Los Santos was a nice bargain addition in August. Houston signed the well-traveled righty to a big league deal after he was cut loose in Atlanta. He went on to pitch 22 1/3 innings as an Astro, working to a 4.03 ERA with far more encouraging rate stats (26.4 K%, 6.6 BB%). He was dinged for five home runs in that time — an average of 2.01 per nine frames — which continued a worrying trend from the 2024 season. However, the long ball wasn’t an issue for him in Atlanta, and De Los Santos yielded just 0.53 HR/9 from 2022-23 in Cleveland. He’s playing out his final season of club control on a $1.6MM salary.
Espada also announced to reporters this morning that catcher Yainer Diaz suffered a foot sprain on a slide into second base during the Dominican Winter League season (video via McTaggart). The injury took place back in December, and Diaz immediately flew to Houston for a diagnosis and to begin treatment. He’s catching bullpens, swinging the bat and throwing as normal, though he’s on what Espada described as a “modified” running program while the foot is in its final stages of mending. There’s no indication that Diaz will miss time to begin the season or even be hobbled early during exhibition play, but it’s still something to keep an eye on; Houston has reportedly already been poking around the market for a backup catcher.
In broader terms, the Astros remain active in both the free agent and trade markets. They’ve reportedly been seeking a left-handed-hitting outfielder as part of the return in any trade talks surrounding infielder Isaac Paredes, who remains available for clubs looking to add some thump at the infield corners and/or at designated hitter. General manager Dana Brown suggested today that trade talks have slowed down in general since camp opened but stated that Houston remains open to roster changes throughout the course of spring training (via Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle).
In addition to seeking a backup catcher, looking for a lefty-hitting outfielder, and exploring trade scenarios for Paredes and pricey first baseman Christian Walker, the Astros have spent much of the offseason listening to interest in center fielder Jake Meyers.
Josh Hader “Back To Normal” After Season-Ending Shoulder Injury
The Astros played the final two months of the 2025 season without their star closer. Josh Hader suffered an ill-timed capsule sprain in his throwing shoulder a couple weeks into August. The injury came too late into the season for the front office to respond with an impact trade addition. Hader expressed hope that he could make a long shot return in the playoffs, but the Astros struggled down the stretch and found themselves on the outside looking in during the final weekend.
For many players, a capsule injury requires surgery and a potential year-plus absence. The Astros have maintained they expect Hader to be able to return without going under the knife. General manager Dana Brown said at the GM Meetings that the team was hopeful the six-time All-Star would be ready for Opening Day.
Hader offered similar sentiments this evening, saying he’s in a good spot after completing a throwing program a few weeks ago. “It should be normal. Obviously, intensity gets up (in Spring Training) and we’ll see how that goes and how I’m recovering, bouncing back from that,” the veteran lefty said (link via Matt Kawahara of The Houston Chronicle). “But as of now, everything is status quo, back to normal.”
Before the injury, Hader was amidst yet another excellent season. He carried a 2.05 ERA while striking out 37% of opponents across 52 2/3 innings. Hader locked down 28 of 29 save chances and was well on his way to what would have been his sixth straight full season with at least 30 saves. It was a strong rebound effort from a little less consistent first season in Houston. Hader posted a 3.80 ERA, the second-highest mark of his career, across 71 appearances in 2024.
Hader worked more than one inning in seven appearances this year. He completed two full frames four times, including in what wound up being his last outing of the season on August 8. Hader tossed a season-high 36 pitches in that appearance. That could certainly be coincidental — he twice threw 35 pitches in a game earlier in the year and didn’t get hurt — but the timing at least raises some questions about his workload. Hader didn’t throw more than one inning in any regular season game between 2021-23, seemingly out of concern about suffering an injury before he’d locked in a significant free agent contract.
Once the Astros signed him to a five-year, $95MM deal, Hader reversed course. He said tonight he remains open to pitching multiple innings despite the shoulder issue, though he added he hasn’t heard anything from the team regarding their usage plans. “For sure. They committed to me to be here for multiple years and gave me the opportunity to pitch. That’s all I can ever ask for. And my commitment to them is committing to be there and be available as much as possible,” Hader replied when asked about working more than one inning.
The Astros were forced to press Bryan Abreu into the closer role for the final six weeks of the season. Abreu had a rough patch between August 30 and September 9 when he allowed multiple runs in three out of four games. He was otherwise flawless, tossing scoreless appearances in his remaining 14 outings while securing seven saves. Abreu is one of the best setup arms in MLB and could certainly close if necessary, but the Astros felt the effects of losing Hader on the overall bullpen. Kaleb Ort and Enyel De Los Santos were their top right-handers to handle leverage spots that arose earlier in games. That’s not sufficient for a playoff hopeful.
It doesn’t seem Houston will know if they’re out of the woods with Hader’s shoulder until he fully builds up in March. The early returns are encouraging, though, which is pivotal for a team that’ll again face questions about the bullpen depth. The front office appears to be working under relatively tight payroll constraints from ownership and also needs to solidify the middle of the rotation while ideally adding a left-handed bat.
Astros Notes: Hader, Alvarez, Arrighetti
Astros general manager Dana Brown shared some injury updates earlier this week at the GM Meetings, including the rather troubling news that Isaac Paredes is no guarantee to be ready for Opening Day. Brown provided some more positive news with Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle (multiple links) on some of the many other Astros players who missed significant time during the club’s injury-plagued 2025 campaign, as all of Josh Hader, Yordan Alvarez, and Spencer Arrighetti are expected to be ready for Spring Training.
Hader’s season was ended in early August by a right capsule sprain in his right shoulder. There was some initial hope that Hader could potentially return during the playoffs, but he still hadn’t started throwing by season’s end, so it seemed unlikely that the closer would’ve been available even if Houston had reached the postseason.
Brown didn’t yet have a timetable on Hader’s recovery at his end-of-season press conference, but said this week that Hader has now thrown off a mound three times. The plan is for Hader to have his regular winter throwing program and “hopefully, we’ll get him ramped up sometime early to mid-February…he’s on course to come back and be there for Opening Day,” Brown said.
As Rome noted, losing Hader ended up devastating Houston’s relief corps. Hader had been the anchor of the bullpen, posting a 2.05 ERA, 36.9% strikeout rate, and 7.8% walk rate across 52 2/3 innings while closing down 28 of 29 save opportunities. While Bryan Abreu performed respectably well in Hader’s place, losing a star closer further thinned out a bullpen that was already missing other arms due to injury, and it added to Houston’s mountain of health woes.
Having Alvarez for only 48 games was perhaps the most impactful of all the Astros’ injuries. The three-time All-Star was sidelined mostly by a hand sprain that was eventually revealed as a finger fracture, and persistent hand discomfort kept Alvarez out of action from early May to late August. While he posted great numbers upon his returning, Alvarez was shut down again by a left ankle sprain in mid-September that left him unable to even resume basic running or hitting drills by the end of the season.
The good news is that Brown said Alvarez should have “a normal offseason,” and is back to running at around “65-70 percent” of his usual capability. Speed is not exactly a huge aspect of Alvarez’s game and he should continue to be Houston’s primary DH in 2026, but keeping an elite bat healthy is naturally a huge factor in the Astros’ hopes of future success.
Arrighetti was limited to seven starts and 35 1/3 innings in 2025, as he missed four months of action after his right thumb was fractured by a batted ball during batting practice. That fluky injury was followed up by a bout of elbow inflammation that shut Arrighetti down for good in early September. There was some concern raised when Arrighetti was set to go for a second opinion on his elbow, but it would appear as though he has gotten a clean bill of health for regular offseason prep.
For now, Arrighetti is penciled into a spot in Houston’s Opening Day rotation, though Brown has been open about the Astros’ desire to add to their pitching staff. With Framber Valdez potentially leaving in free agency and several other Astros pitchers besides Arrighetti also on the mend, acquiring another starter would help clear up some of the uncertainty surrounding the pitching staff.