Josh Hader agrees to Astros deal in major free agency splash

August 2024 · 2 minute read

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Any additional bullpen help that the Yankees and Mets secure won’t feature the top reliever from this year’s free agency cycle.

Josh Hader and the Astros agreed to a five-year, $95 million deal — featuring a full no-trade clause — on Friday, The Post’s Joel Sherman confirmed.

The deal marks the largest free agency contract handed out by Astros owner Jim Crane, according to The Athletic.

ESPN reported that it’s the “largest present-day value contract” involving a relief pitcher in the sport’s history.

There are reportedly no deferrals in the deal, either, which allowed Hader’s contract to top Mets closer Edwin Diaz — who signed a $102 million deal in November 2022 that counts for approximately $93 million per year, according to The Washington Post.

After spending his first seven MLB seasons with the Brewers and Padres, Hader will return to the franchise that acquired him in 2013 from the Orioles — the team that drafted him in the 19th round of the 2012 MLB Draft — before shipping him to Milwaukee two years later and watching him blossom into one of the league’s most dynamic closers.

Hader, who made his third All-Star Game in 2023, compiled a 1.28 ERA across 61 appearances with the Padres, which was just above his 1.23 from his final full campaign with the Brewers in 2021.

Still, despite those results, Hader was dealt to the Padres before the trade deadline in 2022, but he managed just a 7.31 ERA across 19 regular-season appearances before their run to the NLCS.

The Post’s Jon Heyman reported Thursday that the Astros were emerging as the popular landing spot for Haders, with the Rangers, who won the World Series after defeating the Astros in the ALCS, also checking in about the reliever.

He’ll join Ryan Pressly — a two-time All-Star — as the anchors of the Astros’ bullpen, with Houston attempting to reach the ALCS for the eighth consecutive season.

After Hader joined the Astros, the AL West rival Angels added another top reliever off the market, agreeing to a deal with Robert Stephenson, The Post’s Jon Heyman confirmed.

The right-hander had a 2.35 ERA with 60 strikeouts in 38 1/3 innings with the Rays in 2023.

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