Another Bullpen Injuries Force Astros to Adjust Opening Day Plans

Last season the Houston Astros were riddled with injuries in the starting rotation. Now, entering this season, the bullpen is a growing issue.

Astros reliever Bennett Sousa will start the season on the 15-day injured list, the team announced on Thursday. He has a strained left oblique and has flown back to Houston for more testing. There’s no timeline for his returns.

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This follows the news that closer Josh Hader will start the season on the injured list as he works his way back from a left shoulder strain. He’s recovered, but he hasn’t ramped up enough to be ready for opening day.

The Plan Forward for the Astros

Sousa had a terrific year in 2025. He went 5-1 with a 2.84 ERA in 44 games as a middle reliever and set-up man. He had seven holds and four saves in six chances, some of that filling in for an injured Hader. He also struck out 59 and walked 15 in 50 innings. He struck out more than one hitter per inning, and he allowed batters to hit just .204 against him.

The injury Puts the Astros in a significant bind. Bryan Abreu is one of the best set-up men in baseball, but he's expected to move into the closer role while Hader builds up to come off the injured list. Losing Sousa is a double whammy for Houston. He would have slid into Abreu’s role. Now the Astros need to find someone as reliable as him to take his spot.

Who’s going to fill those shoes? The Astros are overflowing with starting pitching options, and some of those arms might end up in the bullpen. But none of them are expected to fill a bridge role to get to Abreu in the ninth inning.

It’s likely up to Bryan King, Enyel De Los Santos and Steven Okert to figure it out. Okert went 3-2 with a 3.01 ERA in 68 games in 2025 and struck out 84 hitters in 71.2 innings. King was 5-4 with a 2.78 ERA in 68 games while he struck out 69 in 68 innings. De Los Santos had a 6-3 record and a 4.36 ERA in 65 games with 66 strikeouts in 64 innings.

The Astros have options. The trick is not to wear them out before reinforcements arrive.

The 30-year-old Sousa was the Chicago White Sox’s 10th round pick out of Virginia in the 2018 MLB draft. He made his Major League debut with the White Sox in 2022 and bounced around to several teams after he was designated for assignment in February of 2023. He spent time with Milwaukee in 2023 but missed considerable time with left shoulder nerve irritation.

He was waived by Milwaukee, claimed by Detroit and then waived again before he landed with the Astros late in the 2023 season. He missed all of the 2024 season with left shoulder inflammation. He also missed the final month of last season with left elbow inflammation.

He has a career record of 8-1 with a 4.39 ERA in 76 games. He has 12 holds and five saves in eight chances. He has struck out 81 and walked 27 in 80 innings.