Hard-throwing closer Josh Hader agrees to 5-year, $95M US deal with Astros: reports

Hard-throwing reliever Josh Hader and the Houston Astros agreed to a $95 million US, five-year contract on Friday, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal was subject to a successful physical.

Hader will get a $19 million salary in each of the next five seasons, none of it deferred. He gets a full no-trade provision and would receive a $1 million bonus for winning the Mariano Rivera/Trevor Hoffman Reliever of the Year Award.

Hader's deal can be considered the most lucrative for a relief pitcher, even while falling short of the total dollars in Edwin Diaz's $102 million, five-year contract with the New York Mets that began last year. Diaz's deal includes $26.5 million in deferred payments he won't completely receive until 2042 and was valued at $93.2 million for baseball's luxury tax and $88.8 million by the players' association.

A 29-year-old with long, flowing hair, Hader returns to the Astros organization after spending two years in their minor league system from mid-2013 through mid-2015. He figures to take over as closer and push Ryan Pressly back to a setup role in a bullpen that also includes Rafael Montero and Bryan Abreu.

Hector Neris became a free agent and remains unsigned. Houston reached the agreement three days after announcing reliever Kendall Graveman will miss the season after right shoulder surgery.

He was 2-3 with a 1.28 ERA and 33 saves in 38 chances for San Diego in 61 appearances last season, striking out 85 and walking 30 in 56 1/3 innings. He disappointed in his Padres debut season with a 7.31 ERA and seven saves over 19 games down the stretch.

Hader has been picked to the last five National League All-Star