Houston Astros manager Joe Espada officially named the newly-signed Josh Hader his closer for the 2024 season on Wednesday, according to the Associated Press (h/t ESPN).
Hader, who signed a five-year, $95 million deal with the Astros last month, takes over the role from Ryan Pressly, who is being moved to a setup role for the upcoming campaign.
"They've both been successful. I feel more comfortable giving Hader that opportunity since he's shown his ability to do it," Espada said. "Same as Pressly. It's just Pressly won't pitch the ninth inning. ... I don't want to put words in Pressly's mouth, but everything I got from him was that he's on board.