FILE – San Diego Padres’ Josh Hader winds up during a baseball game against the San Francisco Giants in San Francisco, Sept. 26, 2023. Hard-throwing reliever Hader and the Houston Astros finalized a $95 million, five-year contract Monday, Jan. 22, 2024. Hader will get a $19 million salary in each of the next five seasons, none of it deferred. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)
HOUSTON (AP) — Josh Hader and the Houston Astros weren’t ready to define what his bullpen role will be on the day they announced his $95 million, five-year contract.
It appears likely he will take over as closer and push Ryan Pressly back to a setup job in a bullpen that also includes Rafael Montero and Bryan Abreu.
But Hader and general manager Dana Brown refused to say if that was the plan.
“We signed here to win baseball games, to win a championship,” Hader said Monday when asked if he expected to be the team’s closer. “I think like Dana said, Ryan’s in the same boat and we’re all in the same boat to do whatever we can and win ballgames and take it to the final step.”
Regardless of what inning Hader is used in, the Astros are excited to have the combination of him, Pressly and Abreu to pitch the late innings.
“This is a pretty special arm and he’s he’s a part of a pretty special trio in the back,” Brown said.
Hader will get a $19 million salary in each of the next five seasons, none of it deferred. He gets a full no-trade provision and would receive a $1 million bonus for winning the Mariano Rivera/Trevor Hoffman Reliever of the Year Award.
Hader’s deal can be considered the most lucrative for a relief pitcher, even while falling short of the total dollars in Edwin Díaz’s $102 million, five-year contract with the New York Mets that began last year. Díaz’s deal includes $26.5 million in deferred payments he won’t completely receive until 2042 and was valued at $93.2 million for baseball’s luxury tax and $88.8 million by the players’ association.
A 29-year-old with long, flowing hair, Hader returns to the Astros organization after spending two years in their minor league system from mid-2013 through mid-2015.
Hader is excited to finally play for the Astros after being traded before reaching the big leagues. He added that he’s kept ties to Texas after meeting his wife Maria Hader in Corpus Christi, Texas when he played for Houston’s Double-A affiliate there.
“I promise to give you all I have on the field and in the community,” he said. “We’re excited to be here to win now and for many years to come.”
New manager Joe Espada, hired after Dusty Baker retired at the end of last season, was thrilled to add Hader to the Astros.
“Adding someone like Josh to our team, an already elite team, puts us a step closer to achieving our goals, which is winning, which is getting back to the World Series,” Espada said. “Today’s a big day for Houston.”
Héctor Neris became a free agent and remains unsigned. Houston reached the agreement three days after announcing reliever Kendall Graveman will miss the season after right shoulder surgery. Brown said the deal with Hader came together in a 72-hour period last week.
