Josh Hader and the Houston Astros have agreed to a five-year, $95 million contract, according to several reports.
The trade will enable Hader to cash $19 million from 2024-28 and has a full no-trade clause, according to Chandler Rome of The Athletic.
After his excellent season with the San Diego Padres, Hader now has secured a long-term deal with the Astros, it came after the Padres extended a qualifying offer to Hader.
The one-year tender offered would have guaranteed him $20.3 million in case it was accepted, though there seemed to be little possibility of that.
Hader will now join on a long-term deal with the Astros, a team that has made seven consecutive appearances in the American League Championship Series.
As for San Diego, they finished third in the NL West with an 82-80 record with a lineup ranking 13th in MLB in runs scored and 15th in slugging percentage.
Going ahead, The Astros will be expecting Hader to bring dominance to their bullpen in the 2024 season as the team seeks to pursue another World Series title.
In the 2023 season The Astros bullpen seems to miss an impact closer, Ryan Pressly did fit in his role with 31 saves, a 3.58 ERA, and 74 strikeouts in 65.1 innings.
ESPN’s Passan also reported that Hader’s deal includes no deferrals recording it as the largest-ever contract for a relief pitcher, in terms of present-day value, $95 M value.
Edwin Diaz signed a five-year, $102 million deal with the New York Mets last offseason, but $26.5 million of it was deferred, giving it a present-day value of $93 million.
