The Houston Astros must turn the page to another closer with Josh Hader starting the year on the injured reserve list.
The Houston Astros put a lot of focus this offseason on building pitching depth, and they’ll have to turn to a new closer out of the bullpen come Opening Day. Astros manager Joe Espada announced on Wednesday that closer Josh Hader will open the season on the injured list due to persistent biceps inflammation throughout spring training. Hader missed the end of the 2025 campaign due to a shoulder capsule strain. He was 6-2 with 28 saves and pitched a 2.05 ERA for Houston last season.
The soon-to-be 32-year-old is reportedly trending “in the right direction,” and completed his first bullpen session on Tuesday. He will throw again a few more times before he faces live hitters. In the meantime, Houston had to make a decision on who will close out games. Espada said that Bryan Abreu is expected to handle closing duties for the team until Hader can return to the bullpen.
Here is the full story from Astros Roundtable writer Sydney Cruse on Abreu’s strengths and what he can bring to the table for Houston to start the 2026 campaign.
The longtime Houston reliever had seven saves last season for the team. Abreu had a 2.28 ERA with 105 strikeouts in 71 innings pitched in his 2025 campaign. He’s been with the club since 2013, joining them at 16 years old, and is a reliable reliever that has shown he can handle high leverage situations, which makes him a solid choice to hold it down in Hader’s absence.