The Houston Astros were trying to hold onto a lead late in Monday’s game against the Boston Red Sox, and that usually means Josh Hader is coming out of the bullpen. The left-hander has rebounded from a tough first year in Houston to validate his status as one of the game’s best closers, and his hard-throwing ways have helped the Astros close out many games as they sit in first place in the American League West.
But on Monday night, Hader never went into the game. Enyel De Los Santos and Bennett Sousa closed out the 7-6 victory in the ninth inning, and Astros manager Joe Espada told reporters including the Houston Chronicle’s Matt Kawahawa that Hader was unavailable due to “discomfort” in his left shoulder.
Hader underwent testing to diagnose the issue, and things could turn out alright. But even if it’s just a small injury scare, it highlights the one thing the Astros forgot to grab at the deadline.
Astros Should Have Grabbed Bullpen Help at the Trade Deadline
The Astros were one of the busiest teams in MLB ahead of the trade deadline, enhancing their depth for a postseason run. With several key players on the shelf, the Astros acquired Ramón Urías, Jesús Sánchez and Carlos Correa to reload for the final stretch and buy time until guys like Jeremy Peña and Yordan Alvárez returned.
The moves drew general praise as a team looking to make another deep run in October. But like a spouse who forgot the milk on a trip to the grocery store, general manager Dana Brown could be kicking himself over not adding to the pitching staff.
The Astros have jerry-rigged their rotation this season, and they’ll have several arms working their way back in the coming weeks. While Spencer Arrighetti is back to a normal workload after returning from a fractured right thumb, Luis Garcia and Cristian Javier are on the tail end of their recoveries from Tommy John surgery, and their workloads for the remainder of the season seem uncertain.
With that in mind, the Astros are going to need to lean heavily on Hader and the back end of the bullpen. Things have gone well so far, as Houston’s pen ranks second in saves (35) and WHIP (1.17) and fourth in ERA (3.35) this season. Of course, Hader has played a big role in those numbers, and losing him for any amount of time would be disastrous.
The counter is that the price of free-agent relievers went through the roof ahead of the deadline. The San Diego Padres gave up several top prospects, including MLB Pipeline’s No. 3 overall prospect Leo De Vries, to acquire Mason Miller from the Athletics, and the Philadelphia Phillies gave up a pair of top 100 prospects (RHP Mick Abel, C Eduardo Tait) to acquire Jhoan Duran from the Minnesota Twins.
With the cabinet bare, the Astros didn’t have a lot to give up. Although they could have added some of the other relievers that switched teams at the deadline, such as Washington’s Kyle Finnegan, Pittsburgh’s David Bednar, Colorado’s Jake Bird, and San Francisco’s Camilo Doval.
If Hader misses extended time, this could have Brown second-guessing his moves at the deadline and cost Houston a chance to push for another title in October.