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Ryan Pressly saved more than 100 games for the Houston Astros during his tenure with the club, but when the team acquired Josh Hader last winter, he was pushed back to a setup role.
Now, Pressly is a member of the Chicago Cubs and Astros general manager Dana Brown admits his relationship with the reliever took a hit over the past year.
“It's going to fracture your relationship some,” Brown said, per MLB.com's Brian McTaggert after dealing Pressly to Chicago. “I definitely would say things were different, but we kept it professional.”
“It wasn't the same as we first met,” he added.
The Astros traded Pressly to the Cubs along with money to help cover his $14 million salary for 2025, the last year of his contract. In return, Chicago is sending Houston right-handed minor league reliever Juan Bello.
Pressly waived his no-trade clause to make the deal happen and he will receive a new one with the Cubs.
The 36-year-old veteran appeared in 59 games for the Astros last season, compiling a 3.49 ERA with a 23.8% strikeout rate. A member of the Astros' 2022 World Series championship team, Pressly saved 30-plus games each of the last two years before Houston brought on Hader. He also had a 2.78 ERA in 45.1 postseason innings for the Astros.
Former Astros reliever Ryan Pressly will anchor a new-look Cubs bullpen
Rookie Porter Hodge ended last season as the Cubs' closer and he could well earn that role again eventually. For now, however, it's more likely that Pressly starts the season as the ninth-inning guy for Chicago. He comes to the team after the Cubs failed to land lefty reliever Tanner Scott, who ultimately signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
In addition to Pressly and Hodge, the Cubs will have options and can let the bullpen hierarchy sort itself out as the spring progresses. They also brought in Eli Morgan from the Cleveland Guardians after he dazzled in 32 appearances for a team that went to the American League Championship Series.
And they acquired Cody Poteet in the Cody Bellinger trade with the New York Yankees. Poteet can start or come out of the pen.
As for the southpaws, the Cubs picked up Rob Zastryzny off waivers from the Milwaukee Brewers and signed former Minnesota Twins reliever Caleb Thielbar.
The newcomers plus Hodge will join Cubs bullpen returnees Tyson Miller, Luke Little, Keegan Thompson and more, giving manager Craig Counsell depth and options headed into Spring Training.
