Other than signing Josh Hader, which was a massive deal by itself, the Astros didn’t do much to replace the quantity lost in the bullpen during the offseason. At last count, the club lost Héctor Neris, Phil Maton, and Ryne Stanek in free agency, and Kendall Graveman was lost for the season due to a shoulder injury. Hader is tremendous and fortified the backend of the bullpen, but he can’t cover all of the missing innings.
As such, West Palm Beach became the backdrop for the competition to see who would earn one of possibly four open spots in the bullpen.