PHOTO: Josh Hader's son & Ryan Pressly's daughter bond over delightful painting session spreading joy with their young creativity
While Josh Hader and Ryan Pressly are preparing for the upcoming season, their kids are enjoying each other's company off the field. The Houston Astros teammates are at the Palm Beaches Complex with their families.
Josh Hader's son (Lucas) and Ryan Pressly's daughter (Hunter) were found painting side-by-side. Their mothers, Maria Hader and Kat Pressly, captured the brewing of the new friendship and shared it on Instagram.
"Cuties," Maria wrote in the caption.
'Surprised' Ryan Pressly praises Josh Hader, says 'he makes our team better'
Earlier this offseason, the Houston Astros signed Josh Hader to a five year, $95 million contract.
However, it came as a surprise to many, as the Astros had a closer in Ryan Pressly. Manager Joe Espada had a decision to make for the closer role and said that Hader would be their primary closer.
Pressly, who fell out of favor, was moved to the set-up role with Hader closing the games for the 2024 season.
"Yeah, it was a surprise, but he makes our team better,'' Pressly said. "He's hands-down one of the best relievers in the game. I'm happy he's here and happy to share the bullpen with him. It's going to be a fun time. He seems like a great teammate.''
Pressly mentioned that he gets paid to get three outs and that his preparation won't change whether he enters the fourth inning or ninth inning.
"We got a great bullpen, probably one of the best bullpens in the league,'' Pressly said.
"I get paid to get three outs whether it's the fourth inning or the ninth inning. Whenever the phone rings and they tell me to get in there, I'll get in there.''
Pressly recorded 102 saves for the Astros over the previous four seasons, but his 3.58 ERA was his highest since 2017.
Meanwhile, Josh Hader has saved 165 games out of 190 opportunities, which includes a career-high 37 saves with the Milwaukee Brewers in 2019. Last year, he had 33 saves out of 38 save situations. He held opposing hitters to a .163 average and registered an ERA of 1.28 across 56.1 innings.