Josh Hader injury update should have Astros second guessing his long-term contract

This could age rather poorly.

Eric Cole

Houston Astros v Miami Marlins / Brandon Sloter/GettyImages

When the Houston Astros signed Josh Hader to a five year, $95 million deal, it was surprising on a number of levels. Not only did it go against the way the Astros have historically handed out deals (and came out of nowhere), but Hader's contract also set a record for relief pitcher. Given how volatile bullpen arms often are, committing that kind of money to Hader came with a lot of risk.

Unfortunately, that risk may be coming back to bite the Astros in a big way. Hader's ailing shoulder was already causing anxiety amongst the organization and fans. Now, with the word from manager Joe Espada that Hader is seeking a second opinion on his shoulder, there's a real chance that this contract could end up being a very costly mistake.

Josh Hader's record contract is under the microscope after he seeks second opinion on his shoulder

As is the case with any pitcher, shoulder injuries are extremely scary. Elbows can generally be rebuilt (and often are), but modern medicine has not figured out how to fix pitchers' shoulders. Afterward, they are often never the same. If Hader is seeking a second opinion, the odds that he may need season-ending surgery just went up exponentially.

Astros fans still don't know what Hader's injury is exactly, so there's still reason to hope for the best. All fans really know is that the team is calling it a strain and that it crept up after Hader's extended outing against the New York Yankees last week.

It's entirely possible that whatever is bothering Hader could go away with rest. If he does miss an extended period of time, however, the remaining three years and $57 million left on his contract are going to look a lot worse.

This is the kind of risk Houston felt like they had to take. Before the injury, Hader had been great and no one was questioning how much money he was making. As is the case too often with relievers, things can take a turn for the worst in a hurry and the Astros may find that out very soon.

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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.