The injuries continue to pile up for the Houston Astros, and this could be the worst one yet. According to reports, the Astros have placed All-Star Josh Hader on the IL.
It was stated on Monday night that Hader wasn't available in the Astros' game against the Boston Red Sox due to shoulder discomfort. On Tuesday, the Astros announced that he'll be on the IL due to a shoulder strain, backdating his IL stint to Aug. 11.
With many questions now for the Astros, mainly on who will close games heading into the postseason, Chandler Rome of The Athletic reported that the expectation is for setup man Bryan Abreu to take his role. Throughout Abreu's career, he's been dominant, but this will be a different situation than he's faced in recent years.
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"Set-up man Bryan Abreu, he of a 1.67 ERA and 13.1 strikeouts per nine innings, is the most obvious option to take closing duties in Hader's absence. Nothing behind Abreu is as settled, meaning Espada may take a matchup-based approach before handing the ball to his substitute closer," he wrote.
While Abreu can close games and has proven that for parts of his career with above-average stuff, doing what Hader does in important moments isn't an easy task.
There's a reason Hader is considered one of the best closers of all time, and for an Astros team looking to win another World Series after the moves they made at the trade deadline, this certainly has an impact on that.
Abreu will have big shoes to fill, but the hope is for Hader to eventually return sometime before the postseason. How long this will take remains uncertain, but shoulder injuries are never ideal.