Blue Jays should have Josh Hader on radar if Astros become trade deadline sellers

With June around the corner, the Toronto Blue Jays are desperate to find bullpen help, especially now that relief pitcher Joe Mantiply was placed on the 15-day injured list with left knee inflammation, and reliever Tommy Nance was already placed on the IL this week due to right forearm discomfort. With injuries to starters and relievers like Mantiply putting more pressure on the bullpen, the Blue Jays could use a standout name, and that name could be Josh Hader.

Now, the Houston Astros relief pitcher has not been immune to the injury bug. The 32-year-old reliever currently sits on the 60-day injured list after suffering left bicep tendonitis near the end of the 2025 season. Hader was not ready for opening day and has since been taking minor league rehab outings with the Double-A Corpus Christi Hooks and Triple-A Sugar Land Space Cowboys.

Hader has looked excellent in his rehab outings though. During his first four outings in his minor league assignment, he allowed no runs, recorded six punchouts against the 14 batters he faced, and surrendered only one walk. This is a promising sign for the six-time All-Star, who left the 2025 season in August with the impact of his shoulder injury being unknown.

However, his return could be too late for the Astros. Hader is slated for a potential return to Houston in June after five more rehab outings, but the Astros are fighting for dear life to keep any hope of contention alive. Right now, Houston sits at a measly 20-31 record (going into Friday, May 22), just ahead of the last-place Los Angeles Angels, and is trending towards selling at the trade deadline.

If Hader is as healthy as he looks right now, he will be a big name for a lot of teams, including the Blue Jays. In fact, Hader is almost everything the Blue Jays are looking for in a reliever: a strong left-hander who acts as a kryptonite to lefty hitters with a diverse pitch mix that can keep everyone off balance.

This is a luxury the Blue Jays can greatly benefit from. Plus, having an arm like Hader in crucial relief outings can help take off the pressure from the current bullpen, who have ground through over 200 innings, sixth-most in the Majors. This pressure has already forced the team's Opening Day closer, Jeff Hoffman, into more of a setup role. Getting an all-star pitcher to add to the back end will only help manager John Schneider have a better control of late and close games.

Toronto will have to act fast if they want to acquire Hader

The Blue Jays are not the only ones with bullpen issues. The San Diego Padres have expressed interest in the left-hander and could make a move quickly to strengthen an already good bullpen.

Hader is also familiar with Petco Park, having been with the Padres for two seasons. The only problem for San Diego would be Hader's massive contract. Currently, the 32-year-old is in the third year of his five-year, $95 million contract with the Astros, which could cause problems for San Diego, which has a lot of large contracts on their roster already.

If the Blue Jays are interested in getting Hader, they will have to show they are willing to either spend the $19 million per year that Hader is owed, taking on his Houston contract, or they will have to lower the financial price by adding on some minor league pitchers that the Blue Jays have a healthy amount of to get the deal done.

That is the decision the front office has to make if it wants to pursue Hader. Will they be willing to take on the financial burden and even some minor-league talent to get a big, win-now arm? Or will the Blue Jays focus more on the future, developing their young pitchers and waiting for the injuries to come to an end? The trade deadline is in August, but time is moving quickly.

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