Not a Hader Hater, but I don't see it unless...
The old saying about quarterbacks applies to closers
Yesterday we learned via The Athletic that the Astros are targeting Josh Hader in free agency.
Hader, the top closer on the market and perhaps the best in baseball, would be a welcome addition to the Astros bullpen if the Astros didn’t already have a closer.
A very good closer, at that.
The old saying about quarterbacks applies here: If you have two quarterbacks, you have no quarterback and, in my mind at least, if you have two closers you have no closer.
I can’t see a way both of these pitchers end up on the Astros roster in 2024.
Of course, the other option is to sign Hader and trade Pressly for a 7th-inning Neris replacement (or two).
The owner that won’t pay a few bucks (relatively) in luxury tax to resign Hector Neris is going to put himself on the hook for an estimated $110 million? For a closer?
Even if Jim Crane agreed to such a move the soon-to-be 30-year-old Hader isn’t going to accept a role other than the designated 9th-inning guy, which leaves Ryan Pressly somewhere other than the closer.
Signing Hader will also cost the Astros a draft pick and that’s something the Astros should think long and hard about given the state of their minor league system.
Pressly just turned 35, so perhaps he’s all in on this move, but that’s hard to fathom at this juncture of his career, especially with his contract for 2025 a “mutual option” or $2,000,000 buyout.
He’ll want to put up numbers in hopes of getting a final contract, not accumulate holds for Hader to finish.
As mentioned above, Hader is 5 years younger than Pressly, so that could be an important factor in whatever calculation the Astros brass is making.
Of course, the other option is to sign Hader and trade Pressly for a 7th-inning Neris replacement (or two).
While not necessarily thought of as dominant stylistically, Pressly’s results have been dominant. From the above-linked article:
Since becoming the team’s full-time closer in 2021, Pressly has 90 saves, a 141 ERA+, 0.985 WHIP and 11.1 strikeouts per nine innings. He has allowed one earned run in 24 postseason appearances since 2021, a span that includes 10 saves and one win. Pressly is one of the sport’s five best closers — and already one of the best postseason closers in baseball history — but now faces the possibility of sharing the title.
Either scenario - having both with Pressly in a different role, or signing Hader and trading Pressly - would be a fascinating roll of the dice for the organization, an organization that I see with a fast-closing Championship Window.
As in 2024 or bust.
It’s also fascinating that out of all the Astros’ needs, they’re focused on an area they don’t necessarily need to mess with - closer.
That’s what makes me think, or hope, there’s a master plan.
But back to my original premise. Is Crane going to commit ~$110 million for a closer with Pressly on the team and earnig $14,000,000 this season?
I’ll believe it when I see it.
Thanks for reading!
Round Rock and Oakland on Tap
My son and I already have our tickets to Sugar Land vs. Round Rock in late March and a couple of days ago I bought tickets to a game in Oakland in mid/late July for the A’s and Angels.
My son is an old soul when it comes to baseball and he wanted to experience the Coliseum before the A’s move to Vegas.
This will be our 4th MLB park along with Houston, Arlington and Tampa.