The Houston Astros closed Wednesday night against the Boston Red Sox with a bang. That night, Bennett Sousa got the four-out save, while Bryan Abreu took care of three. It was a patchwork effort that displayed the team’s depth. General Manager Dana Brown voiced his confidence in the bullpen, saying, “Our bullpen’s been good this year… We have guys who have thrown the ball well.” Sounds optimistic for the team that already had their best closer, Josh Hader, on the shelf, right? But for a team with World Series aspirations, how long will a temporary patch with some optimistic words last?

A single tweet from The Athletic’s Chandler Rome has shattered that confidence just days later. The reason? A potentially season-ending setback for their best closer, Josh Hader, who was placed on IL on August 12 due to left shoulder capsule strain. Rome tweeted, “Josh Hader just spoke and it is way too much to summarize here, but the gist is that a return this regular season is not likely.” A single ray of hope still remains, as Hader could return for the postseason in a “one-inning only role.”

For the man at the center, the math is simple. “We’ll see how my body recovers and how it’s taking on rehab,” Hader said. “Right now for me, I’m trying to get as strong as I can for these next three weeks and see where I go from there.” Hader will face three weeks of no throwing activities. After that, he needs another three weeks to build back arm strength. This timeline pushes any possible return to the very end of the regular season.

Yet, Hader sees a positive side in this gloomy forecast. For the time being, he has sidestepped surgery because the injury is “something that can heal itself” with rest. But he also said, “We don’t want to rush it to where we’re in a spot where I get hurt and have to go get surgery.” The six-time All-Star understands the larger picture. He is focused on the future of his career. “Obviously, I would love to be part of a playoff push, but realistically, I’m thinking about longevity,” Hader shared.

It feels like a knockout punch to Houston’s title aspirations to lose an arm of that caliber right before the playoff push. The Astros will sorely miss Hader’s dominance on the mound. He was authoring an incredible season for the club to claim the championship, as he posted a sparkling 2.05 ERA along with a 0.85 WHIP. He locked down 28 saves in 29 chances, and his performance was nothing short of elite. Over his nine seasons with the Brewers, Padres, and Astros, he has 227 saves.

The loss of a team’s anchor tends to create a ripple effect, and the news hit the Astros fans as a devastating blow. Their reactions ranged from disappointment to pointed anger toward manager Joe Espada.

The fanbase reacts

For many, the first reaction was one of doom. With the team in a daily fight for first place, one fan said, “Won’t be a postseason now.” This sentiment reflects the thin margin in the AL West that the Astros are holding against their division rival, the Seattle Mariners. At the time of Hader’s injury, the two teams were tied for the division lead, with Houston’s advantage sometimes as slim as half a game. More crucially, the Mariners are just 1.5 games behind the leading Astros in the division with a win-loss record of 68-56.

For others, when the closer said he could only come back for one inning, it sounded familiar to his previous comments: “One inning only and Josh Hader, I’ve heard that before.” Hader once refused multi-inning work because the team wouldn’t value it in his contract. He even said, “When I was told to my face that [multiple innings] are not worth anything, it’s about saves… that’s where I was like, I’m not gonna blow my arm out if you’re not gonna invest in me,” in a Foul Territory podcast back in 2024.

For some, the rearranged bullpen was too much to bear. The feeling was raw: “We’re f–d.” The panic is understandable. Houston has an elite arm like Bryan Abreu. But moving him to the ninth will create a new hole in the eighth. Manager Joe Espada’s plan for a “closer by committee” only fuels the anxiety, as we already know the first post-Hader save required two different pitchers.

Many fans were simply sad. “Very unfortunate news definitely did not want to hear this.” This comment shows how dominant Hader was throughout this season, and the aforementioned numbers vouch for that. Finally, some fans needed someone to blame for all of this. And thankfully, manager Joe Espada is the person who comes first on the list this time. “Espada has misused him since we got him.” This anger targets Hader’s final game on August 8. Espada used him for a season-high 36 pitches over two innings. And this was Hader’s seventh multi-inning appearance.

So, the fans feel the manager pushed his star closer to his limits and directly caused the injury. What are your thoughts on the same? Let us know in the comments.