Astros reveal how they fumbled bullpen situation making Josh Hader signing look worse

The Houston Astros are still licking their wounds after a brutal exit from the 2024 MLB Postseason at the hands of the Detroit Tigers. Houston has long been the class of the American League, but were rudely kicked out of the playoffs by former manager A.J. Hinch and his upstart Tigers team.

Upon reflection, the Astros' front office may have realized that some of Houston's postseason failures this year rest on their shoulders. Astros GM Dana Brown and manager Joe Espada spoke with members of the media after Houston's early exit and cited a crucial mistake in their roster construction this past offseason.

During the press conference, Brown told reporters, "We’re going to have to give those guys (Josh Hader and Bryan Abreu) somewhat of a breather, particularly when we go three out of four days with each of them. So that can be taxing. High leverage, three out of four days, it gets tough on those guys."

Astros GM Dana Brown admits he fumbled bullpen situation, making Josh Hader signing look worse

If Astros fans will remember, there were three relief pitchers who left Houston this past offseason and signed elsewhere. The Astros allowed Phil Maton, Hector Neris, and Ryne Stanek to leave via free agency. Houston also lost Kendall Graveman to season-ending surgery before the year began, and optioned Rafael Montero to the minor leagues midway through the season, further depleting their bullpen depth.

Then the Astros decided to run their top relievers into the ground. Only T.J. McFarland recorded more appearances than Abreu this past season, and Hader's 71 outings (a career high) were among the top 20 in the Major Leagues. Abreu's 78.1 innings pitched were among the top 10, and surpassed his previous career mark of 72.

Last season, the combination of Maton, Neris, and Stanek logged over 180 combined. Throw in Montero and Graveman, and Houston needed to cover 250-plus innings. The Astros relied on a six-man starting rotation at times and received some extended action from Tayler Scott and Seth Martinez, but ultimately overworked the back end of the bullpen.

The Astros invested $95 million over five years in Hader, and after watching his breakdown during the final game of the season, the Houston faithful are starting to wonder if they spent their money unwisely. With Brown talking about getting creative with the payroll next season, it doesn't sound as if Houston will be going after some big-time relievers on the open market.

Houston swung for the fences and signed one of the best closers in baseball last offseason. But perhaps the quality over quantity approach failed the Astros in 2024. It'll be interesting to see who Brown and Co. target once free agency opens next month.

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