The Houston Astros made a big splash in free agency by signing Josh Hader to a five-year, $95 million deal in an effort to shore up the back of their bullpen. With another closer in Ryan Pressly already onboard, though, it raised the question of who would end up closing games for Houston in 2024.
Both Hader (2-3, 1.28 ERA, 33 SV, 85 K, 1.10 WHIP) and Pressly (4-5, 3.58 ERA, 31 SV, 74 K, 1.07 WHIP) have been among the top closers in the game over the past few seasons, but it's clear that Hader's ceiling is far higher than Pressly's. With that in mind, new Astros manager Joe Espada revealed that Hader will be Houston's primary closer this upcoming season, meaning that Pressly will move back into a setup role.
Espada met with Josh Hader and Ryan Pressly on Tuesday and said Hader would be his closer. “Hader will pitch the ninth inning if both guys are available,” he said. pic.twitter.com/WCc17WGeT1
— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) February 14, 2024
This shouldn't be a super surprising move, as Josh Hader has spent most of his career closing games, and when he's on, he's one of the most deadly pitchers around. Pressly is a solid closer, but he struggled at times in 2023, and he has more experience working as a setup man than Hader does, so in a sense, he may be shifting back to a role he's more comfortable with.
Regardless of when they pitch, Hader and Pressly are arguably the most lethal one-two punch at the backend of a bullpen in the entire majors, and opposing teams will not want to see them taking the mound one after the other late in games, or else they will likely be in trouble. Hader has the closer role to himself for now, but even if he struggles, Houston can sleep well at night knowing that they have Pressly waiting in the wings.
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