Houston Astros closer Josh Hader (shoulder) is unlikely to return in the regular season, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports. Hader, who went on the 15-day injured list on Aug. 11 with a left shoulder capsule strain, is now in the early stages of a three-week break from throwing. The 31-year-old is holding out hope that he'll be able to ramp up for a postseason return, but he'll likely be limited to a one-inning role if he does. Assuming Hader's regular season is over, his sixth All-Star campaign will wrap up with sparkling numbers across the board. He put up a 2.05 ERA with a .85 WHIP, 76:16 K:BB, and 28 saves in 29 chances over 52 2/3 innings. While manager Joe Espada said earlier this week that he wouldn't name a full-time closer in Hader's absence, Bryan Abreu looks like a logical replacement. The righty logged his first save on Wednesday in a win over the Boston Red Sox, and like Hader, he has posted elite numbers. Abreu owns a 1.64 ERA with a 1.05 WHIP, 81 strikeouts, and 25 walks in 55 frames.

Houston Astros closer Josh Hader (shoulder) has a "left shoulder capsule strain," according to the team, and won't throw for "approximately three weeks." After that, Hader's next steps will be determined. The Astros placed the 31-year-old veteran southpaw on the 15-day injured list this week, but he won't be back when he's eligible to return and won't return to the big-league roster until September. In the meantime, right-hander Bryan Abreu will serve as the club's primary ninth-inning option after picking up his first save of the season on Wednesday against the Boston Red Sox. Losing Hader for an extended period is a tough blow for the Astros' bullpen as they try to hold off the Seattle Mariners for the lead in the American League West division. Hader has been strong once again in 2025 with a 2.05 ERA, 0.85 WHIP, 28 saves and 76 K's in 52 2/3 innings pitched.

Houston Astros left-handed closer Josh Hader (shoulder) landed on the 15-day injured list on Tuesday with a left-shoulder strain and is expected to miss more than two weeks. Manager Joe Espada did not anoint a fill-in closer on Tuesday and hasn't established specific roles for the back end of the bullpen with Hader out. "I'm not naming (anyone) for the ninth, naming (anyone) for the eighth," Espada said. Bennett Sousa got the save over the Boston Red Sox on Monday when Hader was unavailable, but the favorite for the majority of the save opportunities in Houston with Hader out will be Bryan Abreu. However, Espada indicated the team could mix and match in the late innings without Hader, who has converted 28 of his 29 save chances in 2025. Abreu has pitched very well in a setup role this year, and his nine career saves are the most among the rest of the group. If Abreu is still available on your league's waiver wire, pick him up immediately.

Houston Astros relief pitcher Josh Hader (shoulder) was placed on the 15-day injured list on Tuesday with a left-shoulder strain. On Wednesday, Astros' manager Joe Espada said Hader will seek a second opinion on his left shoulder strain. He continued by saying that Hader will be out longer than two weeks. The team didn't reveal what the first diagnosis was, but it was bad enough for the southpaw to get another opinion. It's unclear if fantasy managers are going to get anything from Hader the rest of the way. That being said, Bryan Abreu figures to be the favorite for saves in Houston going forward. He should be rostered in most fantasy formats where saves matter.

The Houston Astros announced on Tuesday that they placed left-handed closer Josh Hader (shoulder) on the 15-day injured list (retroactive to Aug. 11) with a left-shoulder strain. The team also reinstated right-hander Shawn Dubin (forearm) from the 15-day IL, recalled left-hander Colton Gordon from Triple-A Sugar Land and designated right-hander Hector Neris for assignment. Hader, one of the top closers in baseball, was unavailable in Monday's series opener against the Boston Red Sox and will now miss at least two weeks. The 31-year-old All-Star should be stashed in all fantasy formats, and hopefully he'll be back when eligible on Aug. 26. Bennett Sousa ended up getting the save on Monday over Boston, but the favorite for most of the save opportunities with Hader out will be right-hander Bryan Abreu. Abreu doesn't have any saves this year, but he has a stingy 1.67 ERA and 13.2 K/9 mark.

Houston Astros manager Joe Espada said after Monday's 7-6 win over the Red Sox that closer Josh Hader (shoulder) was unavailable to close out the game due to shoulder discomfort, and that he will be undergoing tests. While fantasy managers should wait for more definitive news, it is always worrying to hear about shoulder issues for pitchers. Hader has been excellent once again this season, converting 28 of 29 save opportunities with a 2.05 ERA, a 0.85 WHIP, and a 36.9% strikeout rate in 52 2/3 innings of work. Bennett Sousa picked up his fourth save of the season in Hader's absence, and he has pitched well with a 2.64 ERA and a 10.20 K/9 rate. The Astros also have Bryan Abreu, who has been outstanding but has been utilized mostly in the eighth inning. As such, Sousa may be fantasy managers' best bet for saves should Hader have to miss any time.

Houston Astros closer Josh Hader has now converted 25 straight saves to begin the 2025 season. Hader held the Dodgers scoreless over 1 1/3 innings and 24 pitches on Saturday to close out a 6-4 win. He entered with two outs in the bottom of the eighth and runners on first and second, and struck out Esteury Ruiz to end the threat. Hader gave up a leadoff single to Shohei Ohtani in the ninth, but he retired the next three batters and notched his second strikeout along the way. The 31-year-old left-hander owns spectacular numbers across the board, having pitched to a 1.80 ERA with 61:7 K:BB and a 0.73 WHIP in 40 innings.

It wasn't his cleanest outing, but Houston Astros closer Josh Hader picked up his 24th save of the season in Tuesday's 6-5 win over the Rockies. Hader came in to pitch the bottom of the ninth inning up by two. He got the first out on a fly-out, allowed a solo home run and a single, and ended the game on back-to-back strikeouts. The 31-year-old has converted all of his save opportunities this season and now leads baseball in saves. He has put up strong numbers even by his standards, compiling five wins with a 1.86 ERA, a 0.72 WHIP, a 13.73 K/9 rate, and a career-low 1.63 BB/9 rate in 38 2/3 innings of work.

Houston Astros closer Josh Hader made quick work of the Chicago Cubs to secure save No. 23 in a 2-0 win Sunday. Hader pitched a 1-2-3 ninth inning with one strikeout over just 11 pitches to clinch a series win for the Astros. The shutdown left-hander has converted all of his save attempts this season while pitching to a 1.67 ERA with a 0.69 WHIP and 57:7 K:BB. Hader has been automatic this year and is closing in on his sixth 30-save campaign.

Houston Astros closer Josh Hader got a one-out save on Friday, retiring the only batter he faced to close out the Chicago Cubs in a 7-4 victory. The ninth inning started as a non-save situation, but after a walk and a double it turned into a save opportunity, so the Astros summoned their closer. Hader is now 22-for-22 in save opportunities this season and has been nearly unhittable this year. The 31-year-old has an immaculate 1.72 ERA, 0.71 WHIP, and 56 strikeouts over 36 IP. Hader is probably the best closer in baseball right now and should continue to be elite for fantasy managers.

Houston Astros closer Josh Hader converted his 21st save in as many chances as the club pulled out a 2-0 win over the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday. Hader, pitching for the second straight night and third out of four, retired the Phillies in order and struck out one in the top of the ninth. The star left-hander needed 16 pitches to slam the door on Philadelphia. Hader lowered his ERA to a dazzling 1.73 with a microscopic 0.72 WHIP and 56:7 K:BB over 36 1/3 innings. He remains a superb option at the age of 31, though the Astros may try to avoid using him on Thursday because of his recent workload. Hader has thrown 45 pitches in three save situations since Sunday.

Houston Astros closer Josh Hader picked up his 20th save of the season in Tuesday's 1-0 win over the Phillies. Hader came in to pitch the top of the ninth inning. He got the first out on a strikeout, hit a batter, got the second out on a pop-up, and ended the game with another strikeout. The 31-year-old has been as good as ever this season, converting all of his save opportunities with a 1.78 ERA, a 0.74 WHIP, and a 14.01 K/9 rate in 35 1/3 innings of work. Walks and home runs have bloated his ERA at times in his career, and while his current 1.27 HR/9 rate is not the best, he has put few runners on for free. His 1.78 BB/9 rate is a career-low, so it is possible that he won't sustain it, but Hader has been outstanding overall this season, even by his standards.

Houston Astros left-hander Josh Hader picked up his 18th save in a 4-3 win over the Chicago White Sox on Thursday. Hader allowed one run on two hits in his lone inning of work while striking out two in the frame. He made things interesting in the outing, coughing up a solo homer to Mike Tauchman to cut the Astros' lead to one run and then putting the tying run on second base via a Miguel Vargas double. Hader bounced back, however, striking out Austin Slater to get the final out. Hader now has a 2-0 record, 1.55 ERA, 0.79 WHIP, 18 saves, and 45 strikeouts over 29 innings of work on the season. He remains an elite fantasy closer in all formats.

Houston Astros reliever Josh Hader fired a clean ninth inning in Tuesday's 3-0 road win over the Pittsburgh Pirates. The veteran entered the game to protect a three-run lead and made quick work of Pirates' outfielder Bryan Reynolds -- inducing him to line out in three pitches -- before striking out Tommy Pham and Alexander Canario to slam the door. That's back-to-back perfect appearances for Hader, and he hasn't yielded an earned run in his last seven outings. It's another dominant season for him, sporting a pristine 1.38 ERA and 0.73 WHIP across 26 innings with 16 saves and a sterling 39:6 K:BB ratio. He ranks fourth in the league in saves and has a .144 average against him (.155 xBA) while holding the lowest walk rate of his career.

Houston Astros closer Josh Hader picked up his 12th save of the season in Monday's 4-3 win over the Rays. Hader came in to pitch the bottom of the ninth inning up by one. The leadoff hitter reached on an error, and the first out occurred on a groundout, with the runner advancing to second. The tying run advanced to third on a stolen base, but Hader left that runner stranded by getting the next two hitters out on a bunt pop-up and a foul pop-up. The 31-year-old has converted all of his save opportunities this season with a 1.71 ERA, a 0.81 WHIP, a 12.43 K/9 rate, and a 2.14 BB/9 rate in 21 innings of work. Hader has been one of fantasy's most reliable sources of saves throughout his career, but walks and home runs have been issues at times. Fortunately, everything seems to be clicking for him in 2025.

Houston Astros closer Josh Hader picked up his eighth save of the season in Monday's 8-5 win over the Tigers. Hader came in to pitch the top of the ninth inning up by three. He got the first two outs on a fly-out and a strikeout, allowed a double, and ended the game with another strikeout. The 31-year-old has been excellent so far even by his standards, converting all of his save opportunities with a 0.64 ERA, a 12.21 K/9 rate, and a 1.93 BB/9 rate. Free passes and home runs have been issues for Hader at times throughout his career, but he has done a great job limiting free passes and has yet to allow a homer.

Houston Astros relief pitcher Josh Hader picked up the save on Thursday, closing the doors on the Mets in a 3-1 victory. It wasn't a flawless inning by any means, as he allowed one run on two hits and one walk. Early season rust aside, Hader should continue to be one of the game's most dominant closers. In 2024, he collected 34 saves while posting a 3.80 ERA and 0.96 WHIP in 71 innings. He did need 35 pitches to finish the frame, so don't be surprised if he is unavailable out of the pen for the next game or two.

Houston Astros closer Josh Hader said that he's trying to simplify and limit his movements before his windup to the plate this year. "Not really with my mechanics, but just the initial coming set," Hader said. "That's where a lot of things can be picked up by hitters, when you're coming set. You tend to do certain things on certain pitches. Just trying to limit any tell that I could." Additionally, the hard-throwing 30-year-old southpaw is working on making his changeup a bigger part of his arsenal. Of his 1,166 pitches in 2024, Hader threw only 12 changeups, with 11 coming to right-handed hitters. Other than giving up 12 homers in his first year in Houston in 2024, Hader was a pretty dominant closer with 34 saves and a 79.1 percent share of his team's saves. He also led all relievers with 105 strikeouts, and his 37.8% strikeout rate ranked third. Consider Hader a top-five fantasy closer in 2025.

Houston Astros closer Josh Hader got back on track in Tuesday's 4-3 win over the Mariners, earning a four-out save. Hader came in to pitch the top of the eighth inning up by one with two outs and runners on first and third. He got the third out with a strikeout and stayed in to pitch the ninth, delivering a 1-2-3 inning with two more strikeouts. The 30-year-old closed the door on an American League West division title, just one outing after yielding four runs while recording just one out. Hader has not performed as well as he had earlier in his career, but he has still racked up 34 saves with a 3.60 ERA, a 0.93 WHIP, and a 13.37 K/9 rate in 70 innings of work. Given his job security and strong offense backing him, he should remain a high-end fantasy option for the foreseeable future.

Houston Astros left-hander Josh Hader earned the win in his team's 2-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays in 10 innings on Wednesday. Hader threw two scoreless innings while striking out three and not allowing a baserunner. The star closer came on in the ninth inning with the game tied 1-1 and stuck around to post a scoreless bottom of the 10th to pick up the win. One of the most dominant fantasy closers in baseball, Hader now has a 5-6 record, 3.48 ERA, 0.94 WHIP, 26 saves, and 82 strikeouts over 54 1/3 innings of work this season.