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Astros cut ties on failed reunion as Josh Hader injury jeopardizes playoff hopes

Eric Cole
Eric Cole

Climbing Tal's Hill

Aug 5, 2025; Miami, Florida, USA; Houston Astros pitcher Josh Hader (71) celebrates defeating the Miami Marlins following the game at loanDepot Park. Mandatory Credit: Rhona Wise-Imagn Images / Rhona Wise-Imagn Images

From the moment that the Houston Astros revealed that Josh Hader needed further testing to look into his ailing shoulder, the odds of him hitting the injured list were extremely high. The Astros had to know they were taking a risk when they left Hader in against the Yankees as long as they did and once we knew it was a shoulder injury, the only question was how long he would be out and who would replace him.

However, what fans didn't know was the scale of the roster shuffling that would follow.

On Tuesday, the Astros did indeed place Hader on the IL with a shoulder strain without revealing more information about Hader's tests. However, Houston also reinstated Shawn Dubin from the injured list which helps the bullpen's cause. On top of that, they also recalled Colton Gordon for some rotation depth and designated Hector Neris for assignment.

Josh Hader lands on the injured list as Astros make multiple roster moves to get their pitching staff in working order

We'll start with the easy stuff first. Neris was a funny story as a guy the Astros could not quit, but his stuff is a shadow of what it once was and he was on the short list of Astros who could get axed if/when the roster needed a trimming.

Gordon had already spent significant time in the big leagues with mixed results and the injured list move allowed Houston to bring him back up before he would normally be eligible to reinforce the rotation. Dubin is returning from a forearm strain and while he is no Josh Hader, he had been throwing very well before he got hurt. His return gives the Astros some much needed bullpen depth especially with Hader out indefinitely.

As for Hader, we should know more about the nature of his injury soon, but don't expect much unless it is very severe. Houston is notoriously less-than-transparent about injuries and fans are going to have to read the tea leaves a bit to figure out exactly how long Hader could be out.

More Astros News from Climbing Tal's Hill

Eric Cole

Eric Cole

I started my career writing about baseball covering the Atlanta Braves for SB Nation's Talking Chop back in 2015 which has since been renamed Battery Power. After years of writing for those fine folks, I made the decision to take over as Site Expert at House That Hank Built before becoming a full-time MLB Staff Writer for FanSided in 2023. Along the way, I have been a guest on multiple ESPN radio affiliates as well as 680 The Fan and 92.9 The Game to discuss Braves baseball and especially Braves prospects and was a long-time host on the Battery Power podcast. These days, I continue to write about the Braves as well as covering the Astros, Padres, and Angels with particular expertise with minor league coverage, the MLB Draft, and bashing Anthony Rendon when possible. When I am not writing about or talking about baseball (which is seldom), I am an avid baseball card collector (Maddux and Soroka being my primary personal collections) and I also collect shark teeth. All other sports are mostly dead to me as my Bills have broken my heart too many times.