The Houston Astros saw their All-Star, dominant closer, Josh Hader, go on the 15-day injured list with a shoulder strain. Hitting the injured list this late in the year is never good, but for Hader, there might be more reason for concern.
During an appearance on Refuse to Lose, a Seattle Mariners podcast with Brady Farkas, ESPN MLB insider Buster Olney revealed a worrying update on Hader amid his injury, which could keep the All-Star closer out for a while.
“A shoulder strain could have a wide range of outcomes,” Olney said. “But generally speaking, given the calendar, it’s probably likely he’s not gonna pitch much more in 2025.”
This update from Olney is a very concerning one. Not only is Hader going to miss a significant amount of time, but his 2025 season might be done. Olney continued to elaborate on the injury and why he believes Hader might be done for the year.
“According to reports coming out of Houston,” Olney said, “he’s undergoing more tests and they’re gonna determine the severity of the shoulder strain. But at this time of year, when a pitcher gets shut down in the way that he is, you’re talking weeks to ramp up to that pitcher again.”
One of the first signs that this issue might be more serious than just a brief injured list stint was Hader seeking more tests, doctors, and a second opinion on his shoulder. Typically, when a player looks for a second opinion on their injury, the first diagnosis isn’t good.
Earlier in 2025, Isaac Paredes went through something similar. But his injury came earlier in the year, and while he’s likely out for the rest of the season, there’s at least a chance he returns for a postseason run.
But the Hader injury is a lot more concerning. With a shoulder issue to his throwing side, the Astros All-Star closer might not be able to suit back up for Houston this season, even if the Astros make a deep run.
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If the Astros are without Hader for the remainder of the year, then not only will their bullpen be a lot more suspect, but the season will continue to be defined by injuries.
An entire rotation’s worth of starting pitchers have been hurt this season, as have Yordan Alvarez, Jacob Melton, Jake Meyers, Jeremy Pena, Paredes, and now, Hader. Most of those players could return, but Hader is out for potentially the rest of the 2025 season.
Joe Espada has dealt with a plethora of injuries to his roster all year, and yet, the Astros are still 1.5 games up over the Mariners in the AL West, and look to be serious contenders. He’s impressed with his management of a banged-up roster, and this is another blow he has to deal with.
Fortunately, the Astros have Bryan Abreu, who has a 1.64 ERA, 81 strikeouts, to fill in for Hader as the closer. While they’ve overcome injuries all year and have Abreu to take over in the closer role, this injury is a tough one to overcome.
This report from Olney opens the door to Hader being out the rest of the year, which would be a worst-case scenario. It’d be a brutal blow for the Astros if Hader is done for the year, even with Abreu ready to take over the closer role.
Hader has been incredible this season, with a 2.05 ERA and 28 saves on the year. Losing such a dominant reliever would be hard for any team to overcome, especially this late in the year after the trade deadline.
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