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Josh Hader will miss Opening Day and begin the season on the injured list for the Houston Astros.
The Houston Astros were dealt a tough break on Wednesday, March 11. Josh Hader will miss Opening Day and begin the season on the injured list with biceps inflammation, according to The Athletic’s Chandler Rome .
Hader has been dealing with this issue since the start of Spring Training, as he reported to Astros camp behind schedule after experiencing bicep tightness during an offseason bullpen session. The All-Star has not had any setbacks to date, but his build up will not have him ready in time for when Houston opens the 2026 season against the Los Angeles Angels on March 26.
Hader had 28 saves and 76 strikeouts in 52.2 innings in 2025 for an Astros club that fell just short of the postseason. Houston will look to get its preferred ninth inning arm healthy as quickly as possible. Manager Joe Espada said setup man Bryan Abreu will ascend to the closer role in Hader’s absence.
Josh Hader Injury History
Hader went on the IL for the first time in his career last August with a capsule strain in his left shoulder and missed the final 46 games of the season. He said his biceps issue is not related to his shoulder injury.
The closer is entering the third year of a five-year, $95 million contract he signed in 2024, the richest deal given to a free agent during Jim Crane’s ownership of the Astros. Hader earned that deal by saving 165 games and being named an All-Star five times in seven prior Major League seasons with the Milwaukee Brewers and San Diego Padres . In two seasons in Houston, he’s posted 62 saves and 13.17 K/9.
Bryan Abreu Career Stats
Abreu will be in familiar territory filling in for Hader, as the former was the closer when the latter was out in 2025. He had seven saves in 12 chances last season to go along with 25 holds and a career-high 105 strikeouts in 71 innings. Abreu has served as a setup man for most of his seven-year career, logging 16 saves and 448 strikeouts across 329.2 innings. He owns a 2.65 career ERA.
The Astros have a trio of lefties in Bryan King , Steven Okert and Bennett Sousa who will fill out the bullpen behind Abreu. Espada said that there could be some mixing and matching in the ninth inning based on matchups.
“It feels great having Bryan, also some (other) guys that can fit that role and throw high-leverage innings and get outs for us late in the game,” Espada said. “We’ve done that with those guys. It’s not ideal not having Hader to start the season, but we do have guys in camp that we feel good about getting those last outs for us late in games.”
Colin Capece is an NBA Contributing Writer at Heavy. His work has appeared in The Sporting News, The Dallas Morning News, USA Today and The Arizona Republic, where he covered everything from Caitlin Clark mania to a burgeoning cricket league. Capece received his master’s degree from Northwestern University and his bachelor’s degree from the University of Notre Dame. He roots for all the long-suffering New York sports teams. More about Colin Capece
