“The Chicago Cubs on verge of acquiring closer Ryan Pressly from the Astros,” Nightengale said on X, formerly Twitter.
“Houston Astros setup man Ryan Pressly has not waived his no-trade clause, source tells @TheAthletic,” Rome wrote on the same website. “Teams have checked in, but he has NOT waived his no-trade clause. He is a member of the Astros.”
Astros were rumored to trade Ryan Pressly this offseason
Pressly finished last season playing in 59 games where he had recorded four saves, down from 31 the year before along with a 3.49 ERA and 58 strikeouts. If the Cubs made this huge move in boosting their pitching, especially with a solid reliever, it seemed likely Pressly played his last season with the Astros according to Chandler Rome of The Athletic back in November of last year
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“The Astros have had internal discussions about trading setup man Ryan Pressly, according to two people briefed on the conversations, perhaps a signal that Brown is exploring avenues to get further away from the luxury tax,” Rome wrote.
“Most outside approximations put the Astros around $10 million below the first threshold when accounting for their projected arbitration salaries.”
The 36-year-old is a veteran in this league, playing first in 2013 where he spent the first close to six seasons with the Minnesota Twins before heading to the Astros in 2018, where he has been ever since.
It remains to be seen what happens with Pressly and if he will be changing teams or staying with the Astros, but the team is looking to improve off their 88-73 season where they won the NL West.
As for the Cubs, they are looking to improve off their 83-79 record, which put them third in the NL Central as adding Pressly could be a boost to their pitching.
