Connect with us

Published

on

All-Star closer Josh Hader agreed to terms on a five-year, $95 million contract with the Houston Astros on Friday, significantly bolstering a team that has made seven consecutive appearances in the American League Championship Series, a source told ESPN’s Jeff Passan.

The deal doesn’t include any deferrals, making it the largest ever for a relief pitcher in terms of present-day 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 in the neighborhood of $93 million.

The Astros’ pickup of Hader comes on the heels of news that Kendall Graveman, one of the team’s principal high-leverage relievers, would miss the entire 2024 season after undergoing shoulder surgery. Hader’s presence in all likelihood means Ryan Pressly, who accumulated 90 saves over the last three years, will become the team’s eighth-inning reliever, though Hader displayed versatility to handle various assignments early in his career.

Regardless of how it shakes out, the Astros, who return the vast majority of the group that fell one win shy of the World Series last fall, will once again feature a devastating back end of the bullpen, with Bryan Abreu and Rafael Montero also in the mix. Houston’s Hader signing has the dual effect of eliminating him as an option for its division rivals. The Texas Rangers, who defeated the Astros in a hotly contested ALCS while on their way to their first championship last year, had been rumored to be in the mix for Hader all offseason.

A member of the Astros’ minor league system from 2013 to 2015, Hader made an All-Star team in each of his five full seasons in the major leagues and has established himself as arguably the game’s best closer. His 153 saves since the start of 2019 lead the majors. His 437 strikeouts in that five-year stretch are 59 more than the next-closest reliever.

The 29-year-old left-hander has done that while fashioning a 2.60 ERA and a 0.98 WHIP. His devastating sinker-slider combination, thrown from a wiry frame that helps to maximize his deception, has netted him a career 15.0 strikeout-per-nine rate, the highest in history among those who accumulated at least 50 innings.

Hader anchored bullpens for Milwaukee Brewers teams that consistently overachieved before joining the San Diego Padres as part of a midseason trade in the summer of 2022. The deal saw the Brewers acquire Esteury Ruiz, who was later used as part of another trade to land standout catcher William Contreras, but parting with Hader while in the midst of another playoff run became a controversial subject within the Brewers’ clubhouse. Hader helped the Padres reach the National League Championship Series later that fall, then had another standout season for a star-laden Padres team that grossly underachieved in 2023, posting a 1.28 ERA with 33 saves and 85 strikeouts in 56 1/3 innings.

Hader distinguished himself early on, not just for his electric stuff but also for his ability to pitch multiple innings late in games. In recent years, however, that hasn’t been the case; Hader has recorded more than three outs in a regular-season outing only once since 2019 and has generally been reluctant to do so, pointing to the danger of pitchers overextending themselves amid a long season. It’s unclear how securing his first major contract might impact his thinking.

Hader’s deal comes with full no-trade protection and doesn’t include any opt-outs or options, a source familiar with the contract told Passan. He will be paid $19 million annually and can collect an extra $1 million for winning the Reliever of the Year Award, which he previously claimed in 2018, 2019 and 2021.

Continue Reading

Sports

FCS headed for 12-game regular seasons in ’26

Published

on

By

FCS headed for 12-game regular seasons in '26

INDIANAPOLIS — FCS teams would be allowed to play 12 regular-season games every year under a Division I Football Championship Subdivision Oversight Committee recommendation.

The NCAA announced Tuesday the one-game extension would go into effect in 2026 if the Division I Council gives its approval during its June 24-25 meeting.

Current legislation permits 12 regular-season games in years when there are 14 Saturdays from the first permissible playing date through the last playing date in November. In all other years, only 11 regular-season contests are permitted.

The recommendation also would standardize the start date of the FCS season as the Thursday 13 weeks before the FCS championship bracket is released, which is the Saturday before Thanksgiving.

Football Bowl Subdivision teams have had 12-game regular seasons since 2006.

Continue Reading

Sports

Ex-Utah QB Rising medically retires due to injury

Published

on

By

Ex-Utah QB Rising medically retires due to injury

Former Utah quarterback Cameron Rising announced Wednesday that he’s retiring from football.

Rising, 25, started three games last season before suffering a season-ending injury to his throwing hand. He posted Wednesday on social media that two orthopedic physicians had advised him to give up football because of the hand.

Rising wrote he will undergo surgery and focus on rehab.

Sources told ESPN’s Eli Lederman that Rising has accepted an offensive coordinator role at Newbury Park (California) High School, where he was a three-year starter from 2015-17 and left as a four-star recruit in the 2018 class. He’ll coach four-star Michigan QB pledge Brady Smigiel, ranked No. 45 in the 2026 ESPN 300, next fall.

Rising played in 30 games for the Utes, making 28 starts. He led Utah to Pac-12 championships in 2021 and 2022 and was a first-team All-Pac-12 selection in 2021.

He played in only three games after 2022, however, missing the entire 2023 season with a knee injury. He was removed from the Utes roster after last season.

Rising, who began his college career in 2018 at Texas, still had a year of eligibility remaining because of redshirt seasons, the COVID-19 waiver in 2020 and the injuries.

Utah already had added transfer quarterback Devon Dampier, who started during the 2024 season at New Mexico.

Rising’s 53 career passing touchdowns ranked fourth all time at Utah.

Continue Reading

Sports

Florida CB Johnson faces 4 charges after arrest

Published

on

By

Florida CB Johnson faces 4 charges after arrest

TAMPA, Fla. — Police have charged Florida cornerback Dijon Johnson with two felonies, including possession of a firearm, and two misdemeanors after his arrest over the weekend while driving a car in Tampa.

Police said they pulled over the car Friday for surpassing a stop signal. Officers detected a “strong odor of burned marijuana” and said Johnson was argumentative during the traffic stop, refusing to exit the gray Dodge Challenger, according to the criminal report filed in Hillsborough County.

Johnson was removed from the car and placed into custody. Police searched the vehicle and found marijuana and 8 grams of synthetic marijuana inside a backpack. A black Glock 19 loaded with 17 rounds in a magazine also was found in the car, according to the report.

The gun charge is a second-degree felony. Possession of the synthetic marijuana is a third-degree felony, and the marijuana possession and resisting arrest without violence charges are misdemeanors.

“We are in dialogue with the State Attorney’s Office regarding Dijon’s traffic stop last week,” Tampa-based attorney Tim Taylor said in a statement released Wednesday. “At this time, no formal charges have been filed. Any potential charging decision will, of course, need to be consistent with Florida law. We are eager for all the pertinent facts to come to light.”

Johnson entered written pleas of not guilty to all charges, according to court documents.

Coach Billy Napier said in a statement that the program is “aware of the situation.”

“We will continue to gather facts, cooperate with and monitor the legal and administrative processes,” Napier said.

Johnson, 21, was booked early Saturday and released the following night after posting an $8,500 surety bond, according to jail records.

A 6-foot-1, 196-pound junior from Tampa, Johnson recorded 27 tackles and two pass breakups last season.

Continue Reading

Trending