{"id":123313,"date":"2026-06-03T10:26:01","date_gmt":"2026-06-03T14:26:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/?p=123313"},"modified":"2026-06-03T10:26:01","modified_gmt":"2026-06-03T14:26:01","slug":"astros-back-bullpen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2026\/06\/03\/astros-back-bullpen\/","title":{"rendered":"Astros Finally Get a Massive Piece of Their Bullpen Back"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The Houston Astros bullpen and pitching in general struggled in the early part of the season. The bullpen took a big step forward in May, and they are now set for another step in the right direction in June with the latest update.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Six-time All-Star closer <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.mlb.com\/player\/josh-hader-623352?stats=career-r-pitching-mlb&amp;year=2026\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Josh Hader<\/a> has been activated off the injury list for the first time since August 2025 in an absolutely huge boost for the Astros bullpen. Their closer is back. This news has been highly anticipated for weeks now as he officially secures the back-end of the \u2018pen.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>Astros Finally Get Back a Massive Piece of Their Bullpen<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"max-width: px\"><smartframe-embed class=\"smartframe_wp_element\" customer-id=\"b0c95bc04383cef69c6b47df872135cf\" image-id=\"WmOB81rkZBo4\" style=\"width: 100%; display: inline-flex; max-width: 5184px; aspect-ratio: 5184\/3456;\" ><\/smartframe-embed><\/p>\n<p>The development was first revealed by <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2026\/05\/17\/manager-joe-espada\/\" target=\"_self\">Astros manager Joe Espada<\/a> on SportsTalk 790 <a  href=\"https:\/\/sportstalk790.iheart.com\/featured\/what-s-on-matt-s-mind\/content\/2026-06-02-joe-espada-discusses-the-astros-outlook-heading-into-the-summer\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">during the Matt Thomas show<\/a> on Tuesday.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">The fireman comin\u2019. <a  href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/hashtag\/ChaseTheFight?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#ChaseTheFight<\/a> x <a  href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/budweiserusa?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@budweiserusa<\/a> <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/3dgENbMsOu\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/3dgENbMsOu<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Houston Astros (@astros) <a  href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/astros\/status\/2061894616039751793?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">June 2, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.x.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Hader, after missing the final two months of last season with a left shoulder capsule strain, was initially expected to be fine for spring training and the start of the year. However, <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2026\/02\/26\/what-all-star-closer-josh-hader-latest-setback-means-astros\/\" target=\"_self\">he suffered a setback<\/a> during one of his bullpen sessions right around the time pitchers and catchers report.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>He was found to have biceps tendinitis at the start of February. Hader was around three weeks behind schedule at the time. There was a clear step-by-step <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2026\/05\/08\/astros-injury\/\" target=\"_self\">process in his recovery<\/a> as he slowly built his arm back up. Hader and the Astros took plenty of time to make sure he was fully ready to go given how important he is.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>More on Josh Hader\u2019s Recovery With Astros<\/h2>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"max-width: px\"><smartframe-embed class=\"smartframe_wp_element\" customer-id=\"b0c95bc04383cef69c6b47df872135cf\" image-id=\"WmOBKbolTNJu\" style=\"width: 100%; display: inline-flex; max-width: 3500px; aspect-ratio: 3500\/2800;\" ><\/smartframe-embed><\/p>\n<p>Hader\u2019s spring training regimen basically started during his extended amount of rehab assignments that began on May 5. The 32-year-old appeared in nine minor league games across both Triple-A Sugar Land and Double-A Corpus Christi.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>He posted a 4.15 overall ERA across <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.milb.com\/player\/josh-hader-623352?stats=gamelogs-r-pitching-mlb&amp;year=2026\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">his rehab assignment<\/a> in 8.2 innings along with a 1.27 WHIP. Hader pitched five straight one-inning scoreless outings before ramping up and performing on shorter amounts of rest. He last pitched on back-to-back days on May 27 and 28, where he gave up five runs total.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>That included three earned runs given in 0.2 innings in his last rehab outing. At the end of the day, the Astros were just looking for health and how his arm felt.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe keeps mentioning that he needs the extra adrenaline just to finish the whole rehab off. He feels good\u2026but he needs the big crowd, the walk-up song just to push him so that everything\u2019s completed,\u201d Espada said.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>Hader\u2019s Previous Season With the Astros<\/h2>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"max-width: px\"><smartframe-embed class=\"smartframe_wp_element\" customer-id=\"b0c95bc04383cef69c6b47df872135cf\" image-id=\"WmOBZJekqM0o\" style=\"width: 100%; display: inline-flex; max-width: 3313px; aspect-ratio: 3313\/3456;\" ><\/smartframe-embed><\/p>\n<p>Hader is one of the best closers in baseball and posted a 2.05 ERA in 52.2 innings pitched last season and threw 76 strikeouts. The flame-throwing lefty made 28 saves in 29 opportunities that paved the way to his sixth All-Star team. Hader converted his first 25 save opportunities of the season, which was an Astros record. He was also the American League Reliever of the Month for June 2025 where he put up a 1.98 ERA.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Hader will slide right into the closer role and will also not be used for more than one-inning outings, <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.mlb.com\/news\/josh-hader-activated-from-injured-list\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">according to Brian McTaggart<\/a> of MLB.com. He threw more than one inning seven times last season, and that could have played a role in the shoulder capsule strain he suffered. Hader\u2019s last appearance was a two-inning outing in Yankee Stadium on Aug. 8 where he threw two innings on a 2025 high 36 pitches.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>Astros Bullpen Depth Gets a Boost<\/h2>\n<p class=\"\" style=\"max-width: px\"><smartframe-embed class=\"smartframe_wp_element\" customer-id=\"b0c95bc04383cef69c6b47df872135cf\" image-id=\"WmOBffUiyMEc\" style=\"width: 100%; display: inline-flex; max-width: 5184px; aspect-ratio: 5184\/3456;\" ><\/smartframe-embed><\/p>\n<p>Hader\u2019s return gives the Astros a solid back end of <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2026\/04\/30\/the-astros-bullpen-is-constructed-differently-this-season\/\" target=\"_self\">the bullpen<\/a> with Steven Okert, Enyel De Los Santos, and Bryan King, who\u2019ll be the new set-up man. Both <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.mlb.com\/player\/nate-pearson-663878?stats=gamelogs-r-pitching-mlb\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Nate Pearson<\/a> and rookie reliever Alimber Santa have also yet to give up a run in four and five innings, respectively.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Bryan Abreu\u2019s struggles have hurt the bullpen, and he\u2019ll need to be moved out of high-leverage situations. Hader can give that stability.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u201cBy joining us, there is a sense of relief from the rest of the guys that, okay, now we have an extra arm that we can count on in other high-leverage spots. With 100 games left, it\u2019s coming together,\u201d Espada said.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>The Astros sent down Logan VanWey on Monday as the corresponding move and also brought Zach Cole back up as Braden Shewmake was placed on the 10-day injured list with a right adductor strain. Carlos Correa was also moved to the 60-day IL.<\/p>\n<p>Hader signed a five-year, $95 million contract and is now in his third year of that with the Astros. He has a 2.64 ERA and 0.94 WHIP overall across nine seasons.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>Main Image Credit:<\/strong> Rhona Wise-Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Houston Astros bullpen and pitching in general struggled in the early part of the season. The bullpen took a big step forward in May, and they are now set for another step in the right direction in June with the latest update.\u00a0 Six-time All-Star closer Josh Hader has been activated off the injury list [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5612,"featured_media":123322,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"1","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2,14,1071],"tags":[29581,246,2182],"class_list":["post-123313","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-astros","category-mlb","tag-astros-bullpen","tag-houston-astros","tag-josh-hader"],"modified_by":"Matthew Nethercott, Site Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123313","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5612"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=123313"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123313\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":123323,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123313\/revisions\/123323"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/123322"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=123313"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=123313"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=123313"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}