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Cubs Notes: Assad, Pressly, Morgan

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The Cubs’ pitching staff has been hammered by injuries early in the season, which has served to undercut what’s been an outstanding offense. Justin Steele’s season is already over thanks to UCL surgery, and right-hander Javier Assad has yet to pitch in 2025 due to an oblique strain. The hope had been that Assad would be able to return early next month after beginning a rehab assignment in mid-April, but he exited his most recent rehab start while clutching his side an experiencing obvious discomfort.

Cubs skipper Craig Counsell told the team’s beat last night that Assad was traveling back to Chicago to be reexamined in the wake of that apparent setback (via Jordan Bastian of MLB.com). There’s no further update at this time, but it seems fair to expect the renewed discomfort will push Assad’s 2025 debut back further than originally hoped.

The 27-year-old Assad pitched a career-high 147 innings in the majors last year, starting 29 games for the Cubs and logging a solid 3.73 ERA. He’s been a productive member of the staff both in a relief and rotation capacity since his 2022 debut. Metrics like FIP (4.49) and SIERA (4.66) are far more bearish than his 3.40 ERA, due primarily to middling strikeout and walk rates of 19.8% and 9.9%.

Even if there’s some likely regression in store, however, Assad is clearly a big league-caliber arm who could hold down an important spot in the middle or at the back of Chicago’s rotation. His setback likely extends right-hander Colin Rea’s run in the rotation. The veteran swingman has proven to be an important offseason pickup thus far, tossing 13 2/3 innings and holding opponents to a pair of runs on 14 hits and a walk with a dozen strikeouts. Rea has made two starts, lasting 3 2/3 innings his first time out and 4 2/3 innings in his second. He held potent Dodgers and D-backs lineups to one run in each of those starts and out to be stretched out enough to pitch five to six innings in his next appearance.

The rotation has generally fared well despite those injuries (3.50 ERA), but the Cubs’ bullpen has been a true weak point in 2025. Chicago relievers rank 27th in the majors with a 5.17 earned run average — a struggle that’s compounded by the fact that the Cubs’ bullpen also ranks fifth in MLB with 94 innings pitched. The Cubs will only lean on their bullpen all the more heavily in the wake of a season-ending injury to top starter Justin Steele, who averaged nearly six innings per start from 2023-24.

Part of the bullpen’s struggle has been a shaky performance from newly acquired closer Ryan Pressly. The longtime Astros hurler has a sharp-looking 2.45 ERA in his first 11 innings with the Cubs, but he’s sitting on a career-worst 10.6% strikeout rate that checks in lower than his 12.8% walk rate. That’s not a sustainable recipe for success.

Pressly has been pitching at less than 100% this season, however. Counsell revealed last night that Pressly had his right knee drained yesterday and was unavailable for a save situation that arose (link via Patrick Mooney of The Athletic). Sophomore reliever Porter Hodge stepped up and nailed down a victory over the Dodgers that pushed Chicago’s record to 16-10 and widened their division lead to 2.5 games.

Despite the ominous update on Pressly’s knee, Counsell added that the team hopes the 36-year-old veteran will be available beginning with this weekend’s series against the Phillies. Pressly was down yesterday, and the Cubs have an off-day today, so he’ll have a few days to rest that ailing knee. In addition to shaky command, Pressly is giving up hard-contact at career-worst rates and has shown a career-low 93.3 mph average velocity on his heater. His 6.4% swinging-strike rate is the eighth-worst among the 276 MLB pitchers with at least 10 innings pitched in 2025.

Pressly isn’t the only ailing Cubs reliever. Right-hander Eli Morgan, acquired from the Guardians over the winter, is already on the 15-day injured list after stumbling to a 12.27 ERA in his first seven appearances with his new team. He’d originally been diagnosed with an elbow impingement, but Counsell revealed last night (via Bastian) that Morgan won’t throw at all for two to three weeks due to an inflamed ulnar nerve in his right arm. There’s no indication right now that surgery is a consideration, but several players (e.g. Michael Fulmer, Steven Matz) have ultimately required an operation when dealing with ulnar neuritis in the past.

Morgan, 28, had a nice run with Cleveland from 2022-24, pitching 176 innings with a 3.27 ERA, a 25.1% strikeout rate and a 6.6% walk rate. His strikeout rate dipped considerably in 2024, however, and he spent time on the injured list due to both shoulder and elbow inflammation. He’ll be reevaluated after this shutdown period, but for the time being there’s no concrete timetable on when he might be able to return.

Cubs Notes: Infield, Pressly, Little

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The Cubs’ infield alignment figures to be in flux throughout both the Tokyo Series and perhaps even into the early days of the season stateside. As noted by ESPN’s Jesse Rogers earlier this week, second baseman Nico Hoerner will not be participating in the Tokyo Series with the Cubs as he recovers from offseason flexor tendon surgery. Instead, Hoerner will stay behind in Arizona in hopes of being ready for the start of the stateside regular season on March 27, which Maddie Lee of the Chicago Sun Times notes the infielder currently appears to be “on track” for.

That’s fairly good news overall, as Hoerner entered camp with an unknown timeline for return from surgery and it wouldn’t have necessarily been a shock to see him miss the first few weeks of the regular season. In that context, missing just the first two games of the year would be a notable win. What complicates matters further, however, is the questions surrounding top prospect Matt Shaw. The club’s presumptive starting third baseman, Shaw has been slowed by an oblique issue this spring and has yet to get into a game.

Andy Martinez of Marquee Sports Network relayed comments from manager Craig Counsell earlier this week on Shaw’s status. Counsell noted that the Cubs “aren’t ruling [Shaw] out for anything,” suggesting he could be in play for the Tokyo Series. With that being said, however, Shaw has not yet made his Spring Training debut despite Counsell referring to Shaw as “not too far” from getting into games last week.

While Hoerner is unavailable, utility man Jon Berti figures to slide into the opening at second base. If Shaw is also unavailable for the Tokyo Series, however, things could get a bit more complicated. The final bench spot for the club’s ultimately 26-man roster remains up for grabs, with Rule 5 pick Gage Workman, trade acquisition Vidal Brujan, and non-roster invitee Nicky Lopez all in the conversation to join Berti, Carson Kelly, and Justin Turner on the club’s bench.

Any of them could be in the conversation to cover for Shaw in the event that both Shaw and Hoerner are unavailable for the start of the season, although it seems as though Turner could be an option as well. The 40-year-old hasn’t played third base on a regular basis since 2022, but the veteran told reporters (including those at Marquee Sports Network) that he’s been taking “a lot of” reps at the hot corner this spring to stretch out his arm in order to be ready to fill in at the position if necessary.

Moving on to the bullpen, veteran right-hander Ryan Pressly was acquired from the Astros this winter to help bolster the club’s bullpen mix. Reporting at the time of the trade suggested that Pressly was assured that he would be the club’s top candidate for saves this season prior to waiving his no-trade clause to join the club. That could certainly be the case, and Lee writes that Pressly remains a favorite for the closer job, though it’s worth noting she also acknowledges young right-hander Porter Hodge as another potential favorite for save opportunities. Hodge dazzled in his rookie season last year, posting a sterling 1.88 ERA with a 2.75 FIP in 43 innings of work while picking up nine saves along the way.

Given that framing of Pressly and Hodge as both being potential favorites for the closer job, it’s possible that the club could utilize both hurlers in the ninth inning depending on matchups. For his part, Pressly expressed a preference for pitching in the ninth inning but made clear that he doesn’t see the role as assured.

‘‘I’ve done every role under the sun in the bullpen, but I really felt like I got my stride when I was in that ninth-inning role,’’ Pressly said, as relayed by Lee. ‘‘And I’m happy for the opportunity to be back in it. And now it’s just a matter of seeing what I can do with it.’’

Elsewhere in the bullpen, Lee reports that southpaw Luke Little threw live batting practice for the first time of the spring yesterday. Little has been slowed throughout camp due to what pitching coach Tommy Hottovy described to Lee as “typical offseason issues” that impacted the southpaw’s buildup this winter unrelated to the lat strain that ended his 2024 season. It’s unclear whether Little will be ready for domestic Opening Day or not, though as a reliever with options remaining in a crowded bullpen the southpaw may wind up starting the season at Triple-A Iowa even if he’s healthy.

MLBTR Podcast: Ryan Pressly To The Cubs, Bregman’s Future, And Jurickson Profar

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The latest episode of the MLB Trade Rumors Podcast is now live on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts! Make sure you subscribe as well! You can also use the player at this link to listen, if you don’t use Spotify or Apple for podcasts.

This week, host Darragh McDonald is joined by Anthony Franco of MLB Trade Rumors to discuss…

Plus, we answer your questions, including…

  • Will Ben Cherington get the Pirates a right fielder before spring training? (21:10)
  • What is holding up Jack Flaherty’s market? (23:15)
  • Why is the MLB offseason so different from the other sports? (29:00)
  • Is there a common thread with the unsigned free agents? (32:50)
  • Brett Baty to the Padres and Luis Arráez to the Mets, straight up, no money changing hands. Who says no? (38:45)
  • News of the Pirates signing Adam Frazier breaks during recording (39:25)
  • Back to the Baty-Arráez question (39:50)
  • Should the Cubs get Michael King from the Padres and what would the cost be? (42:50)

Check out our past episodes!

The podcast intro and outro song “So Long” is provided courtesy of the band Showoff.  Check out their Facebook page here!

Dana Brown Discusses Ryan Pressly, Alex Bregman, Jose Altuve

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The Astros have been in the news a lot lately. They traded Ryan Pressly to the Cubs. They reportedly still have the door open a crack for Alex Bregman and, relatedly, have some willingness to move Jose Altuve from second base to left field. General manager Dana Brown addressed those various topics while speaking to the media today, with Chandler Rome of The Athletic among those to report on his comments.

On Pressly, Brown said that the relationship between himself and the reliever “took a slightly different turn” when the club signed Josh Hader going into the 2024 season. “Any time you take a major-league player out of a role where they feel comfortable, it’s going to fracture your relationship some,” Brown said. “I think we continued to communicate. He was a true professional and I kept it real as a true professional myself. Ultimately, I wouldn’t say (the relationship) was the same as (when) we first met, but I think there was some frustration, which I totally understand from a competitor.”

Pressly had been the club’s closer for several years. He racked up 12 saves in the shortened 2020 season and then finished the next three campaigns with between 26 and 33 saves. But the club was looking to bolster the bullpen going into 2024, mostly due to factors unrelated to Pressly. The Astros had lost Héctor Neris, Phil Maton, and Ryne Stanek to free agency and then Kendall Graveman required shoulder surgery that was likely going to keep him out for the entire year.

They decided that the best way to add to the bullpen was to get Hader, signing him to a five-year, $95MM contract. He took over the closing duties in Houston, bumping Pressly to a setup role. It seems Pressly was privately a bit miffed by the change, though he didn’t make any public complaints. He was credited with 25 holds and four saves last year while posting a 3.49 earned run average.

Rumors of a Pressly trade have been floating around all winter. Part of the logic was that the Astros have some desire to avoid the competitive balance tax in 2025, which also provided some motivation for the Kyle Tucker trade. Pressly’s contract pays him $14MM this year, a salary in range of market rates for a solid closer but perhaps a bit high for a setup guy on a club trying to limbo under the tax line.

The complication, from an outside perspective, was Pressly’s 10-and-5 rights. Since he had at least 10 years of service and at least five with the Astros, Pressly had the right to block any trade. Since he’s from Texas, it was fair to wonder how much appetite he had for leaving the Astros, but the reports about the behind-the-scenes discord perhaps shed some light on his decision. By approving a trade to the Cubs, he will get a fresh start and likely get a chance to be a closer again.

For the Astros, they sent $5.5MM to the Cubs in the deal but that still allowed them to clear $8.5MM and duck under the tax, at least for now. Rome adds that Brown is trying to trade Rafael Montero but without getting anywhere. That’s not especially surprising since Montero posted ERAs near 5.00 in each of the past two seasons and has been outrighted off the roster. He is still owed $11.5MM for the final year of his deal, a three-year pact signed in the 2022-23 offseason. At that time, the club had parted ways with GM James Click and had not yet hired Brown. Owner Jim Crane was running the baseball operations department during the interim, a time in which the Astros signed Montero and José Abreu.

It remains to be seen whether the club will stay under the tax line. Recent reporting has suggested that re-signing Bregman is still possible, even though the club has acquired Isaac Paredes and Christian Walker. Those two project as the club’s third and first baseman respectively but the club has apparently considered re-installing Bregman at third, moving Paredes to second and Altuve to left.

Despite those reports, Brown characterized the possibility of re-signing Bregman as a “longshot” last week and continued to downplay the chances today, saying that the plan is something that been the subject of in-house discussions and not something that has been discussed with Bregman’s agent, Scott Boras. “We are definitely having conversations within our front office,” Brown said. “We haven’t reached back out to Boras. At some point, it could turn to that. We’re taking a deep look at what it would look like if we acquired him and how it would look for us financially, does it make sense to do it? I would mostly say it’s all internal conversations as to what we would like to do in terms of Bregman.”

RosterResource currently projects the club’s CBT number as $236MM, just shy of the $241MM base threshold. Signing any player of note would push them back over the line. That’s especially true of Bregman. The Astros have reportedly offered him $156MM over six years, which is an average annual value of $26MM. Rome reported last week that the offer is still on the table, despite the club pivoting to Paredes and Walker, though Brown’s framing of things today suggests their dialogue with Boras has been fairly casual. Bregman has also been connected to clubs like the Tigers, Red Sox, Blue Jays and Cubs but remains unsigned with spring training set to ramp up in about two weeks.

As mentioned, a domino effect of Bregman returning to Houston would be Altuve ending up in left field, though that seems like it could be a factor this year with or without Bregman. “We aren’t taking anything off the table and we’re weighing all options,” Brown said. “We’ll see what it looks like in left field with understanding that he’s going to play some second base or be at second base quite often, depending on what the coaching staff comes up with. But we’re not taking anything off the table in terms of seeing what he looks like in left field.”

Altuve has been almost exclusively a second baseman in his big league career, with six innings at shortstop being his only experience anywhere else. He’s never been regarded as an especially strong defender, but his already-weak metrics have slid even lower of late. Altuve has been worth -82 Defensive Runs Saved over his entire career, with DRS tagging him with a -13 grade or worse in each of the past three seasons.

Moving him to left field is obviously risky on account of his lack of experience out there, though the Crawford Boxes give Daikin Park one of the shallower left fields in the majors, so perhaps it’s easier for the Astros to take such a gamble. Altuve himself recently expressed a willingness to do whatever it takes to bring Bregman back to the club though it’s less clear how he would feel moving to left independent of that.

If Altuve can stick in the outfield, it could help the club out there since that’s a clear weak spot on the roster. The club plans to have Yordan Alvarez spend more time as the designated hitter this year and also traded Tucker. That leaves them with Jake Meyers, Chas McCormick, Taylor Trammell and Mauricio Dubón as their projected group out there. Having Altuve in left without Bregman on the roster could open up second base time for someone like Zach Dezenzo, who has always hit well in the minors but doesn’t currently have a path to regular playing time.

It’s also possible that the club pivots to Jorge Polanco, who is reportedly another free agent the Astros have been in contact with, in addition to Bregman. Polanco is coming off a rough season and just had knee surgery but has a strong pre-2024 track record. The club could consider Polanco in left field as well, though he’s four years younger than Altuve and is a former shortstop.

Polanco is also a switch-hitter, which seems to suit the club’s preferences. In the post-Tucker world, Alvarez is the only lefty projected for regular action as of now. Brown has long said that he would like to add a lefty-swinging outfielder as a way to add balance and reiterated that today, saying that adding a left-handed bat is “sort of a priority.” Adding Polanco and then putting either him or Altuve in left would be an unusual way of accomplishing that but is perhaps more attractive than signing a free agent like Alex Verdugo or Jason Heyward.

There are a lot of moving pieces and they all make the Astros an interesting club to watch in the remainder of the offseason. Pitchers and catchers report to spring training in about two weeks.

Astros Trade Ryan Pressly To Cubs

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Jan. 28: The Astros have formally announced the trade.

Jan. 26: After a few days of speculation, Ryan Pressly has agreed to waive his 10-and-5 no-trade protection to okay a deal that will send the veteran reliever from the Astros to the Cubs.  Houston will receive right-handed pitching prospect Juan Bello in return, plus the Astros are sending $5.5MM along with Pressly to help the Cubs cover some of the righty’s $14MM salary for the 2025 season.  In exchange for agreeing to the deal, Pressly will receive a new no-trade clause, plus an assignment bonus to cover the tax difference in relocating from Texas to Illinois.  The trade will become official once the standard medical reviews are complete.

Pressly has been considered a trade candidate for much of the offseason, and probably even as far back as August, when he hit the minimum number of appearances to trigger the vesting option in his contract.  Initially a two-year, $30MM extension, Pressly gained a third year and an extra $14MM by making 124 appearances over the 2023 and 2024 seasons, blowing past the vesting threshold of 110 appearances.  While the Astros obviously valued the right-hander highly simply by dint of that frequent usage, Houston has been operating with fairly limited payroll space this winter, making a $14MM salary for a reliever entering his age-36 season seem a little pricey for their budget.

We already saw evidence of the Astros’ financial maneuverings in another major trade with the Cubs, when Kyle Tucker was sent to Wrigleyville for a trade package of Isaac Paredes, Hayden Wesneski, and prospect Cam Smith.  Like Pressly, Tucker was controlled just through the 2025 season, and he’ll be making $16.5MM in his final year of arbitration eligibility.  The Astros have already used some of the savings from the Tucker and Pressly trades in signing Christian Walker to a three-year, $60MM deal, and today’s deal will surely add more fuel to the speculation that a reunion might be possible between Houston and Alex Bregman.

RosterResource estimates the Astros’ 2025 payroll at roughly $217.6MM, with a luxury tax number of $236.3M.  This represents a drop from the Astros’ $244MM payroll and $262MM tax number in 2024, dropping Houston under the tax threshold by a bit less than $5MM.  Owner Jim Crane indicated that the Astros would be willing to spend at their 2024 levels under the right circumstances, so re-signing Bregman remains at least a possibility, now that more money has been cleared off the books.

USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reported three days ago that a Cubs/Pressly trade was “on the verge” of being finalized, though some late hurdles emerged, such as some apparent late interest from the Tigers and Blue Jays.  Pressly ultimately held the final say given his no-trade protection, and it seems as though he chose Chicago over Detroit as his next landing spot.

Today’s news officially ends Pressly’s very successful run in Houston, which began when the Astros acquired the righty from the Twins at the 2018 trade deadline.  Pressly posted a 2.81 ERA, 30.9% strikeout rate, and 6.16% walk rate over 333 innings for the Astros, somewhat flying under the radar as one of the more effective relievers in baseball.  Beyond his regular-season work, Pressly posted a 2.78 ERA in 45 1/3 postseason innings for Houston, playing a big role in the club’s postseason success.

Initially used as a setup man, Pressly stepped into the closer’s role in 2020 and excelled as the team’s chief ninth-inning option, but the Astros still opted to sign Josh Hader to a five-year, $95MM contract last winter.  With Hader on board, Pressly was moved back to setup work last season, but he’ll now be Chicago’s top saves candidate, which Nightengale said was one of the assurances Pressly received in order to get him to approve the trade.

Rookie Porter Hodge pitched well after becoming the Cubs’ closer last year, and while Hodge is probably still viewed as the closer of the future, Pressly brings much more experience and a longer track record of quality.  Hodge will certainly still be used in high-leverage situations, and Pressly’s addition bumps everyone in the Cubs bullpen down a spot on the depth chart to strengthen the entire relief corps.

Pressly is the most prominent new face in a Cubs bullpen that has also added Eli Morgan and Caleb Thielbar to the mix this offseason.  Relief pitching was a clear need for the Cubs given how injuries greatly hampered their pen down the stretch last season, though the acquisitions still reflect Jed Hoyer’s preference of not over-investing in the relief market.  The Cubs did try to make a big splash as the runners-up to signing Tanner Scott, but with Scott off the board, Chicago pivoted away from another long-term options like Carlos Estevez to instead take on Pressly, who is a free agent next winter.  Some more moves might be coming, as The Athletic’s Chandler Rome, Patrick Mooney, and Sahadev Sharma report that the Cubs remain interested in adding to their relief corps even after acquiring Pressly.

The bottom-line results were still solid for Pressly in 2024, though there were some red flags in age-35 campaign.  Pressly’s strikeout, walk, and whiff rates were only slightly above league average, representing significant dropoff from his numbers in both categories just a season ago.  On the plus side, Pressly continued to generate grounders at a strong 48.8% rate, and his ability to keep the ball on the ground has long helped the right-hander counter-act his penchant for allowing hard contact.  Pressly also again was the among the league leaders in curveball and fastball spin rates, continuing his career-long run of elite spin.

As for Houston’s bullpen, the Astros figure to be on the lookout for some bullpen help to fill the void left behind from Pressly’s departure.  Depending again on how much GM Dana Brown has available to spend, the team could pursue some lower-cost arms, or perhaps make more of a bigger strike if Bregman indeed goes elsewhere and the Astros won’t be adding another major long-term salary.  Bryan Abreu, Tayler Scott, Kaleb Ort, and Bryan King project as the top setup or high-leverage options in front of Hader in Houston’s current pen.

Bello (who turns 21 in April) was an international signing for Chicago during the 2022 signing period, and he had a 3.21 ERA, 25.1% strikeout rate, and 7.7% walk rate in 89 2/3 innings for the Cubs’ A-ball affiliate in Myrtle Beach last season.  While not ranked amongst the Cubs’ top 30 prospects by either MLB Pipeline or Baseball America, BA’s scouting report cites his four-pitch arsenal and increased ability to find strikeouts with several of his offerings.  “He fits the Astros’ organizational philosophy of developing pitchers with three or more secondaries to play off of their fastball,” according to BA’s write-up.

The Athletic’s Chandler Rome was the first to report that Pressly agreed to the trade, and that at least one prospect was heading to Houston from Chicago.  ESPN’s Jeff Passan added the detail that the Astros would be covering some salary, with USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reporting the $5.5MM dollar figure.  Ari Alexander of KPRC 2 reported Bello’s involvement in the trade package.  The New York Post’s Jon Heyman had the additional details about Pressly’s new no-trade protection, as well as the assignment bonus.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Cubs, Astros Still Discussing Pressly; Tigers No Longer In The Mix

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7:37pm: Nightengale reports that the Tigers are no longer in the running. If Pressly does agree to move, it’s expected to be to the Cubs.

6:57pm: The Astros have officially asked Ryan Pressly whether he’d approve a trade to the Cubs, reports Jon Heyman of The New York Post. Ari Alexander of KPRC 2 reports that they’ve also asked the reliever if he’d accept a deal to the Tigers. Chandler Rome, Sahadev Sharma and Patrick Mooney of The Athletic first reported this afternoon that the Tigers had been in discussions with Houston about Pressly.

In any case, it seems the ball is firmly in Pressly’s court. Bob Nightengale of USA Today writes that the Astros have reached a “tentative” agreement with at least one of those teams, which is obviously conditional on Pressly waiving the no-trade rights. Bruce Levine of 670 The Score suggests that the Cubs feel the holdups on the no-trade protection are “resolvable.”

Pressly has full no-trade protection as a player with at least 10 years of MLB service and five-plus service years with his current team. He grew up in the Dallas area and has pitched in Houston since the 2018 trade deadline. His wife Katharine is a Houston native. It’s not out of the question that he and his family simply prefer to stay there.

Pressly combined for 110 appearances between 2023-24, which triggered a $14MM vesting option on his deal. That’s probably a little above market value but not dramatically so. José Leclerc and Andrew Kittredge each signed $10MM free agent contracts this winter. Blake Treinen, who is six months older than Pressly, landed two years at $11MM annually.

After serving as Houston’s closer between 2020-23, Pressly moved into a setup role last year. That was in response to their late strike to add Josh Hader on a five-year free agent deal. He had a solid season, working to a 3.49 earned run average through 56 2/3 frames. Pressly’s strikeout rate dropped to a league average 23.8% clip — his lowest mark since his 2018 breakout —  but he posted a solid 7.4% walk rate while picking up 25 holds.

The Cubs and Tigers have both been exploring the closer market. Each would presumably give Pressly the chance to return to the ninth inning. Chicago has a few less experienced pitchers (e.g. Porter Hodge, Nate Pearson, Tyson Miller) who could compete for saves. It’s a similar story in Detroit, where Beau Brieske, Jason Foley, Will Vest and Tyler Holton are part of what would projects as a closer by committee group. The Tigers have a strong relief group but lean heavily on their bullpen in games not started by Tarik Skubal. Adding Pressly would solidify the back end. He’s a known commodity for skipper A.J. Hinch, who managed him in Houston between 2018-19.

Latest On Ryan Pressly

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12:40pm: Per a report from Chandler Rome, Sahadev Sharma and Patrick Mooney of The Athletic, the Tigers are also in the Pressly talks but it “may be unlikely” for the righty to approve a trade to Detroit.

9:19am: The Astros have been shopping right-hander Ryan Pressly throughout the winter, but those efforts didn’t gain much traction until recently. That’s understandable in the sense that the free-agent market for relievers was largely frozen until the past couple of weeks. Now, with free agent bullpen arms flying off the board, interest in Pressly has seemingly picked up. The Cubs, Blue Jays and one yet-unknown club out west have all shown serious interest in Pressly over the past 24 hours.

Pressly, however, has full no-trade protection by virtue of his 10-and-5 rights (ten years of major league service, five-plus years with his current team). He can nix any trade to a location he doesn’t want. That’s of extra note for Pressly as a Texas native who’s playing his home games a bit more than 200 miles south of Dallas, where he was born and raised. Jon Heyman of the New York Post reports this morning that Pressly has informed the Astros that he’s disinclined to approve a trade that’d send him too far east or west.

That would seemingly rule out both the Jays and any club on or near the west coast. It’s not yet clear which club out west is eyeing Pressly, though the D-backs have been vocal about their desire to add a closer. The A’s, Giants and Angels aren’t necessarily in the market for an experienced ninth-inning arm specifically, but all three could use another high-leverage arm in general.

All of that could be moot, however, if Pressly is wary of straying toward either coast and prefers to remain in Texas or somewhere in the country’s heartland. That could potentially bode well for the Cubs, though Heyman adds that Pressly has not yet made a decision one way or another on whether he’d approve a move to Wrigley Field. One swaying factor, speculatively speaking, could be that the Cubs would almost certainly use Pressly as their closer. That’s a role he filled — and filled quite well — in Houston from 2020-23, when he saved 102 games and pitched to a 2.99 ERA with a huge 31.5% strikeout rate in 198 2/3 innings. He was bumped to a setup role in 2024 after the Astros’ signing of Josh Hader on a five-year, $95MM contract.

Pressly’s 2024 season was solid all around but not quite up to his (lofty) prior standards. He logged a 3.49 earned run average over 56 2/3 innings and posted a 23.8% strikeout rate that stood as his lowest mark since the 2016 season. His 7.4% walk rate was comfortably better than league average but was still his highest mark in four years. His average fastball sat at 93.8 mph, per Statcast, marking his lowest number in more than a decade. Still, the right-hander’s broader track record is excellent. And, with the Astros potentially reengaging with Alex Bregman, there could be extra motivation for Houston to shed some payroll.

It’s hard to envision any scenario where the Astros re-sign Bregman and also dip beneath the luxury tax threshold, but shedding Pressly’s $14MM salary would lessen the sting of exceeding the tax line for what would be a second straight season. Per RosterResource’s projections, Houston is currently about $3MM north of the $241MM threshold.

Blue Jays Have Also Shown Interest In Ryan Pressly

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If the Astros trade Ryan Pressly, the Cubs appear the likeliest landing spot. USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reported this evening that Chicago was nearing a deal for the veteran reliever. Multiple reports from the Houston beat indicated that Pressly has not agreed to waive his no-trade rights, however. It’s also not clear if the Cubs and Astros had agreed to a final trade package and were awaiting Pressly’s decision, or if the teams merely felt they were making progress in those conversations.

Chandler Rome, Sahadev Sharma and Patrick Mooney of The Athletic report that while the Cubs are serious suitors for the two-time All-Star, no deal is believed to be imminent. According to The Athletic, the Blue Jays and at least one mystery team from the West Coast have also expressed interest. Brian McTaggart of MLB.com similarly wrote this evening that the Astros have fielded interest from multiple clubs on Pressly.

In any case, the 36-year-old righty controls his destination. Pressly has full no-trade protection as a player with at least 10 years of MLB service and five-plus service years with his current team. He grew up in the Dallas area and has pitched in Houston since the 2018 trade deadline. His wife Katharine is a Houston native. It’s not out of the question that he and his family simply prefer to stay there.

Whether Pressly would waive his no-trade clause to join the Cubs, Blue Jays or anyone else remains to be seen. There is no definitive reporting that he is unwilling to move. All that is clear is that he has not approved a trade to this point.

This could be a key decision for Houston’s overall offseason. The Astros have an offer out to Alex Bregman. In recent days, they’ve resumed talks with their longtime third baseman. Bregman is still pursuing a long-term contract; Houston’s initial offer was reportedly for $156MM over six years. The Astros project around $3MM north of the base luxury tax threshold. Offloading a few million dollars could allow them to duck below the CBT line for the moment. Signing Bregman would undoubtedly push them back into tax territory, though that’s perhaps an easier sell for ownership than it would be to pay the CBT even if he walks.

Pressly combined for 110 appearances between 2023-24, which triggered a $14MM vesting option on his deal. That’s probably a little above market value but not dramatically so. José Leclerc and Andrew Kittredge each signed $10MM free agent contracts this winter. Blake Treinen, who is six months older than Pressly, landed two years at $11MM annually.

After serving as Houston’s closer between 2020-23, Pressly moved into a setup role last year. That was in response to their late strike to add Josh Hader on a five-year free agent deal. He had a solid season, working to a 3.49 earned run average through 56 2/3 frames. Pressly’s strikeout rate dropped to a league average 23.8% clip — his lowest mark since his 2018 breakout —  but he posted a solid 7.4% walk rate while picking up 25 holds.

The Cubs and Jays could each offer Pressly their closer role. Chicago has a few less experienced pitchers (e.g. Porter Hodge, Nate Pearson, Tyson Miller) who could compete for saves. Toronto has already added Jeff Hoffman, Yimi García and Nick Sandlin this offseason. That trio joins Chad Green and Erik Swanson in the high-leverage mix. Hoffman is probably the favorite for the ninth inning, but he has been a setup man for most of his career. He recorded 10 of his 12 career saves for the Phillies last season. Pressly saved at least 26 games in each of his three full seasons as Houston’s closer.

Cubs, Astros Have Discussed Ryan Pressly; Pitcher Has Not Waived No-Trade Clause

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4:46pm: Chandler Rome of The Athletic reports that Pressly has not agreed to waive his no-trade clause to this point. According to Rome, while the Astros are shopping Pressly, a deal is not considered imminent. The veteran righty would obviously need to approve a trade for anything to get across the finish line.

4:36pm: The Cubs are “on the verge” of acquiring right-hander Ryan Pressly from the Astros, reports Bob Nightengale of USA Today. Pressly has a full no-trade clause and will have to waive it for a deal to be finalized.

Chicago has been looking for another back-end reliever. Pressly has plenty of experience in the late innings. He worked as Houston’s closer between 2020-23. Pressly saved 12 games in the shortened season and recorded between 26 and 33 saves over the next three years. He didn’t allow an earned run average north of 3.58 in any of those seasons.

Houston displaced Pressly in the ninth inning when they signed Josh Hader. Pressly pitched well in a setup capacity this year, posting a 3.49 ERA through 56 2/3 innings. He triggered a $14MM vesting option for the 2025 season. That’s probably close to market value for one year of his services. It’s $4MM above what Andrew Kittredge and José Leclerc received as free agents, for instance. The Astros are narrowly above the luxury tax threshold, though, so they could look to offload payroll to duck below the tax line. Pressly would be their most obvious trade candidate if he were open to moving. He’s a Texas native who has spent nearly seven years with the Astros, however, so it’d be understandable if he’s reluctant to move.

Pressly, Jansen, Robertson Among Cubs’ Bullpen Targets

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As the Cubs look to strengthen the back end of their bullpen, they’ve considered a lengthy list of names via both the trade market and free agency. Sahadev Sharma and Patrick Mooney of The Athletic report that Chicago has some interest in Astros righty Ryan Pressly and that they’ve looked into a long list of free agents — Kenley Jansen, David Robertson, Phil Maton, Ryne Stanek and Brooks Raley among them.

The Cubs recently finished runner-up to the Dodgers in their quest to sign Tanner Scott, putting forth a reported four-year, $66MM offer that broke all recent precedent for Chicago’s approach to bullpen acquisitions. The Cubs haven’t given out a multi-year guarantee or even an eight-figure salary to any individual reliever since signing Craig Kimbrel in 2019. Signing Scott would’ve marked a major paradigm shift for president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer. That’s also true of free agent Carlos Estevez, to whom the Cubs have also been linked. Conversely, the list of considerations highlighted by Mooney and Sharma are more in line with the team’s prior approach to bullpen building.

Pressly stands as the most interesting name in many regards. A trade involving the longtime Houston stopper would have major ramifications for two clubs and ripple effects throughout the rest of the free-agent market. He’s owed $14MM this season in the final year of his contract but also wields a no-trade clause, allowing him to control his own fate.

If Pressly were amenable to a trade that’d send him to Wrigley Field, the Cubs would immediately have a new closer, while the Astros would dip back under the luxury tax threshold. Houston currently sits just $3MM over the line, per RosterResource’s estimate. Trading Pressly would put them $11MM under the threshold, perhaps giving the ’Stros the financial leeway to pursue an outfielder. They’re reportedly interested in Jurickson Profar, for instance.

The 36-year-old Pressly was the primary closer in Houston for four seasons, from 2020-23, before giving way to free-agent signee Josh Hader in 2024. Pressly moved into a setup role this past season and tallied 25 holds in addition to four saves. He pitched 56 2/3 innings with a solid 3.49 ERA, a 23.8% strikeout rate, a 7.4% walk rate, a 48.8% ground-ball rate and just 0.64 homers per nine innings.

All of those rate stats were better than league-average, but many still represent a step in the wrong direction for Pressly. Beginning with his 2018 breakout in Minnesota and stretching through the 2023 season, for instance, Pressly punched out a whopping 32.6% of his opponents with just a 6.4% walk rate. The uptick in walks this past season wasn’t necessarily glaring, but it’s fair to say Pressly isn’t missing bats anywhere close to where he did at his peak. A four-seamer that average 95.3 mph from ’18-’23 checked in at a 93.8 mph average in ’24, and his swinging-strike rate dipped from 16.6% (again, ’18-’23) to a strong but far less remarkable 12.6%. League-average this past season was 11.1%.

Payroll-wise, adding Pressly would bump the Cubs to around $194MM in 2025 payroll with about $212MM worth of luxury considerations. That’d leave them $29MM shy of this year’s $241MM tax threshold. The Cubs and Astros already got together on one blockbuster, sending Kyle Tucker from Houston to Chicago in exchange for infielder Isaac Paredes, righty Hayden Wesneski and top prospect Cam Smith. One would presume that Pressly’s name at least came up in those talks, but a larger and more complex package shipping both Tucker and Pressly to Wrigley Field was obviously never reached.

The free agent candidates laid out by The Athletic all fit the Cubs’ typical preference for short-term acquisitions in the bullpen, but genuine pursuits of Jansen and/or Robertson would still mark a change of note. From 2020-24, the largest guarantee the Cubs gave to a reliever was Hector Neris’ $9MM deal last offseason. Either Jansen or Robertson would likely command an eight-figure guarantee. Jansen saved 27 games and posted a 3.29 ERA, 28.4% strikeout rate and 9.2% walk rate in 54 2/3 innings with the Red Sox this past season. Robertson notched a 3.00 earned run average in 72 innings with Texas, punching out one-third of opponents against a 9.1% walk rate.

The Cubs are plenty familiar with Robertson, of course. He signed a small one-year deal there prior to the 2022 season and largely revived his career at Wrigley Field. This time around, however, the circumstances would be different. Robertson inked an incentive-laden $3.5MM deal for one year in the 2021-22 offseason, as he’d yet to fully reestablish himself following Tommy John surgery while playing for the Phillies. He’s now coming off a trio of dominant seasons. With recent $10MM guarantees for both Jose Leclerc (A’s) and Andrew Kittredge (O’s), Robertson could well command a salary north of that sum. The Cubs’ offer to Scott and reported interest in Estevez show a willingness to spend that type of money on a reliever, though.

As for the others, they’re likely to come at a lesser rate. The Mets declined a net $7.5MM decision on Maton, opting for a $250K buyout over a $7.75MM option. He’s still coming off a nice year, however, having posted a 3.66 ERA, 22.6% strikeout rate, 9.1% walk rate and 46.8% grounder rate in 64 frames. He finished particularly well after being traded from the Rays to the Mets in July. Stanek was another summer trade acquisition for the Mets; he posted a combined 4.88 ERA in 55 1/3 innings between Seattle and Queens. He whiffed 27.8% of opponents but issued walks at a 10.4% clip and was tagged for an average of 1.30 homers per nine innings.

Raley is on the mend from Tommy John surgery that was performed on May 29 of this past season. As such, the 36-year-old southpaw (37 in June) will be a midseason reinforcement wherever he signs — be it in Chicago or elsewhere. Raley was excellent from 2022-24 when healthy, tallying 115 1/3 frames of 2.58 ERA ball with a 27.3% strikeout rate and 9% walk rate.

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