The Houston Astros received devastating news with Josh Hader, arguably the best reliever in the sport, suffering an injury that will likely end his regular season. He could be back for the postseason, but getting there without him is going to be a challenge. In a move that can only be classified as sheer desperation, the team has signed Craig Kimbrel to a MLB deal to join their bullpen according to ESPN's Jeff Passan.
Veteran reliever Craig Kimbrel is signing with the Houston Astros, a source tells ESPN. He'll be joining their big league team.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) August 21, 2025
Sure, Kimbrel is one of the greatest relievers in MLB history, but it isn't 2012 anymore. The 37-year-old is a shell of his once dominant self. I'm not going to fault the Astros for doing whatever they can to try and get by without Hader, but the fact that they seemingly found nobody better than Kimbrel to sign shows just how poor things are for them in the bullpen.
This revelation has to be exciting for the Seattle Mariners and other AL contenders.
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Astros move shows Mariners are still very alive in AL West race
Vibes in Seattle feel like they're at an all-time low right now as the Mariners have lost five in a row at seemingly the worst time. As rough as things look for Seattle right now, they've lost very little ground in the AL West since Houston has lost four in a row, so they're only 1.5 games back. They're 1.5 games back of the team that lost Hader and signed Kimbrel. That sounds pretty good, doesn't it?
The Mariners obviously have to take advantage of the short-handed Astros, and so far, they've yet to do so, but considering the talent on Seattle's roster, they're bound to turn it around, right? I mean, their rotation has struggled, particularly lately, but it's as good as it gets on paper and just got Bryce Miller back. Their lineup has a ton of firepower and the back-end of their bullpen is ridiculous.
The Mariners might not be favored to win the AL West since they're still in second place, but they certainly have the roster advantage right now. The one plausible advantage Houston had was its bullpen, but swapping Hader out for Kimbrel won't help at all.
Astros bullpen is in dire shape after signing Craig Kimbrel
Houston might be fine in the ninth inning as Bryan Abreu, one of the best relievers in the American League, has replaced Hader as the closer, but the rest of the bullpen is a mess. Sure, guys like Bennett Sousa, Bryan King and Steven Okert have had nice years, but do you really want them as the set-up relievers? Kaleb Ort has pitched well lately, but his track record is far from spectacular and he just lost Houston an extra-inning game in the middle of this skid.
As for Kimbrel, well, it'd be nice to have someone with his pedigree pitch in the late innings, but again, it's 2025, not 2012 or even 2021. Kimbrel has pitched pretty well this season in Triple-A, posting a 3.00 ERA in 42 appearances and striking out 51 batters in 39 innings of work, but his stuff just isn't good enough anymore. There's a reason that the Braves, the organization that watched Kimbrel as a superstar, cut bait with him after just one appearance and that it took this long for him to find another big league opportunity.
When comparing this bullpen to AL contenders, well, it just isn't pretty. Again, Abreu is good, but who else is there that you fully trust in October? Other contenders have that.
The Mariners have Andres Munoz, Matt Brash and Gabe Speier. The Yankees have David Bednar and Luke Weaver. The Tigers have Kyle Finnegan and Will Vest. The Blue Jays have Jeff Hoffman and Louis Varland.
I have no doubt that the Astros will be fine in games they lead after eight, but getting to that point with their bullpen will be a challenge. It's imperitive to have a reliable back-end of the bullpen. The Astros had that, and the fact that they have the fewest blown saves in the sport (12) backs that up, but that was with Hader, a pitcher who has blown just one save opportunity all year, leading them.
Hopefully, the Astros can find a way to tread water, and who knows - perhaps Kimbrel will turn back the clock. Barring that, though, the Astros might be in trouble.