The Houston Astros continue to deal with a long list of injuries early in the season, but a notable development involving closer Josh Hader emerged this week.
Hader, who has been sidelined with left biceps tendinitis since before the season, took a significant step forward in his recovery by facing live hitters for the first time on Tuesday at Daikin Park.
According to MLB.com's Brian McTaggart, Hader threw 20 pitches during a live batting practice session, working against teammates and showing encouraging signs of his upcoming comeback.
“Hader was sitting at 91-93 mph with his fastball,” McTaggart reported. “He said Tuesday’s session was akin to his first live BP outing of the spring, which puts him perhaps about a month away from returning, without any setbacks.”
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In the same story, McTaggart quotes Hader describing how Tuesday's session fits into his buildup ahead of his 2026 season debut.
“I’m feeling good, feeling strong,” Hader said. “I got through it throwing relatively hard and commanded the baseball in the zone, commanded the slider, getting good whiffs on it. Ideally, that’s what you want.”
The pitcher addressed the challenge of being away from the field while the Astros have struggled to open the season, currently sitting fourth in the American League West with an 8-11 record.
“It’s tough to sit here and watch games and not be able to be part of it. Obviously the emotions are still there,” Hader said. “But not being able to participate, it’s definitely a grind. But overall, I got work to do in the background. I feel like I’ve been doing that.”
Added Hader: “I mean, obviously, you know, we haven’t been playing good baseball. We’ve been losing. We play 162 for a reason… There’s a long season ahead of us.”
Hader has a career 2.64 ERA and 829 strikeouts over 512.1 innings. He has posted 227 career saves, and in his second year with the Astros last season, he improved upon his 2024 campaign by posting a 2.05 ERA over 52.2 innings with 28 saves.
