Bryan

Abreu

The Astros wanted to stay away from Josh Hader today, so Abreu was going to close. However, he was needed with two outs in a tie game in the eighth. After striking out Trea Turner to end the rally, he was handed a 2-1 lead in the ninth. He then struck out Kyle Schwarber, Alec Bohm and Nick Castellanos in order, with all three going down swinging. One of the game’s best setup men, Abreu has 53 strikeouts and a 1.72 ERA in 36 2/3 innings this season.

Abreu was away from the team for two days while taking care of something more important than baseball. The 28-year-old will return to serving as the setup hurler for Josh Hader.

Congrats to Abreu and his growing family. The Astros needed a spot on the active roster for Wednesday’s starter A.J. Blubaugh, so this timing works perfectly for them. Abreu will miss the next three games and then return to the Astros’ bullpen.

Abreu was tasked with protecting a 6-4 lead after Josh Hader threw two innings in the 12-inning victory over Seattle on Tuesday. He was unable to have any success, as he gave up a two-run double to Julio Rodriguez, and with the bases loaded, he issued a full-count walk to Randy Arozarena to get the blown save and loss. Abreu is still one of the better relievers in baseball, but a bit of a rough start to the 2025 campaign for him as seen in an ERA of 5.06.

Abreu is one of the best non-closer relievers in baseball. Even in a down year in 2024, he posted a 3.10 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, and 103/32 K/BB ratio in 78 1/3 innings. He will likely continue to be one of the best middle relievers in baseball and will have fantasy value to help with ratios and the chance of stealing wins.

Josh Hader, Ryan Pressly and Abreu all worked the previous two days, but the youngest of the trio was the only one available tonight, apparently. Abreu got the job done and finally picked up his first save in the process. He leads the AL with 38 appearances this season, and his ERA is down to 2.58 after a rough start. Still. because of the lack of saves, he’ll make less than a quarter of what he’s worth in arbitration again next year.

The Astros had to use Hader in three-of-four games against the Yankees over the weekend, and Abreu was used in both Sunday and Monday’s contest. With the two relievers unavailable, it seems likely that Ryan Pressly would get a potential save chance for the Astros should one be presented to the team.

In case fantasy managers forgot, Abreu kicks off the 2024 campaign by serving a league-issued two-game suspension that carries over from last postseason for intentionally throwing at Rangers slugger Adolis García during Game 5 of the ALCS.

Abreu has struggled in two of his six outings this spring, leaving him with an 11.81 ERA. That his velocity is down about two mph probably has something to do with it. Hopefully, he will get that back once the games start to matter. The Astros do have Josh Hader for the ninth and Ryan Pressley for the eighth, but they’re still going to need Abreu, who is about as talented as any reliever in the leagues. They won’t have him for the first two games of the season, though, as he was suspended for throwing at Adolis García in last year’s World Series.

As previously reported, Hader will join an Astros’ bullpen that already features an elite closer in Ryan Pressly and one of the best setup men in the league in Bryan Abreu. Best of luck to opposing hitters after the sixth inning. The presumption is that Hader will function as the team’s primary closer, though expect Pressly to get some chances as well if there are key left-handed hitters due up in the eighth inning instead of the ninth. Hader will once again be one of the first closers off the board in all 2024 fantasy drafts.