Astros land top free agent closer on $95 million deal
The Houston Astros have agreed on a five-year, $95 million deal with free agent closer Josh Hader, a person with knowledge of the agreement told USA TODAY Sports’ Bob Nightengale.
The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because the deal wasn’t yet official at press time.
As one of the most dominant relievers in baseball for the past half-decade, Hader has made five consecutive AllStar teams – coming up with the Milwaukee Brewers before spending the past 18 months with the San Diego Padres.
In 2023, Hader posted a 1.28 ERA with 33 saves and 85 strikeouts in 61 appearances but the Padres struggled for most of the season and missed out on the playoffs.
The Astros have reached the ALCS seven years in a row – winning two World Series titles – but have used a number of different closers during their run with Ken Giles (2017), Hector Rondon (2018), Roberto Osuna (2019) and Ryan Pressly (2020-2023) each leading the team in saves.
Hader joined the Padres ahead of the 2022 trade deadline, an unpopular move in Milwaukee with the Brewers very much in postseason contention. He struggled after the deal (7.31 ERA in 19 games) but gave up only one hit (and no runs) in five postseason appearances with San Diego, which reached the NLCS.
Hader’s deal with Houston includes a full no-trade clause with no money deferred and a $1 million bonus if he wins the Mariano Rivera Award as the AL’s best relief pitcher.
Hader made his big-league debut in June 2017 and was dominant the rest of the rookie campaign, striking out 68 in 472⁄3 innings with a 2.08 ERA. He was an All-Star in 2018, receiving Cy Young votes as the Brewers came within a game of the World Series.
Hader took over as Milwaukee’s fulltime closer a year later and racked up 37 saves, averaging 16.4 strikeouts per nine innings, which remains the highest single-season mark of any pitcher with 75 innings in MLB history.
His 165 saves since 2018 are the second most in baseball, trailing only Kenley Jansen’s 190.
Edwin Diaz’s $102 million deal with the New York Mets stands as the biggest contract ever given to a relief pitcher.
Lifelong Astros Alex Bregman and Jose Altuve are each eligible for free agency after the 2024 season, with outfielder Kyle Tucker only under team control through 2025.
Josh Hader stats
u2017: 2.08 ERA, 35 games, 68 strikeouts in 47 innings u2018: 2.43 ERA, 55 games, 12 saves, 143 strikeouts in 81 innings u2019: 2.62 ERA, 61 games, 37 saves, 138 strikeouts in 75 innings u2020: 3.79 ERA, 21 games, 13 saves, 31 strikeouts in 19 innings (COVID season) u2021: 1.23 ERA, 60 games, 34 saves, 102 strikeouts in 58 innings u2022: 5.22 ERA, 56 games, 36 saves, 81 strikeouts in 50 innings u2023: 1.28 ERA, 61 games, 33 saves, 85 strikeouts in 56 innings