The Astros used Enyel De Los Santos and Bennett Sousa within the ninth inning of tonight’s 7-6 win over the Purple Sox, which instantly raised eyebrows since nearer Josh Hader hadn’t pitched since Friday and was seemingly recent. Nonetheless, Astros supervisor Joe Espada advised reporters (together with Matt Kawahawa of the Houston Chronicle) that Hader was unavailable resulting from what Espada described as “discomfort” in Hader’s left shoulder.
Hader was present process testing on his shoulder and extra will likely be identified as soon as the outcomes of these scans are in, however for now, the Astros and their followers can solely hope that the nearer has averted a major harm. Shedding Hader could be a large hit to an Astros group attempting to remain forward of the surging Mariners within the AL West race.
Now in his second season of a five-year, $95MM free agent contract, Hader wasn’t fairly as dominant as traditional in 2024, as a spike in dwelling runs and hard-hit ball charge led to a 3.80 ERA over 71 innings. Issues have been extra regular this 12 months, as Hader has a 2.05 ERA over 52 2/3 innings, and posted a set of spectacular Statcast metrics to associate with his glowing ERA. Hader’s 7.8% stroll charge is noteworthy, because it represents his first above-average quantity in that class because the 2019 season. As at all times, Hader is producing a ridiculous quantity of swing-and-miss, sitting within the 99th percentile of all pitchers in strikeout, whiff, and chase charges.
In his earlier recreation on Friday, Hader threw a season-high 36 pitches over two innings of labor, getting the win within the Astros’ ten-inning 5-3 consequence over the Yankees. He has topped the 30-pitch threshold simply 4 instances in 48 video games this season, and solely seven instances pitched greater than a single inning. With this in thoughts, it could possibly be that Hader is just a bit sore within the aftermath of that longer outing in New York, and wishes a bit extra restoration time.
Houston’s pen is deep sufficient in high quality arms that the membership ought to be capable to face up to a short absence for Hader, as any of Sousa, Steven Okert, Bryan King, or Bryan Abreu may step into the nearer’s function. The Astros have had among the finest bullpens in baseball this 12 months, although clearly Hader has been a giant issue within the reduction corps’ excellence.
