Chicago Cubs Make Major Decision on Former World Series Champion

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Craig Counsell reacts against the Boston Red Sox at Wrigley Field on July 18, 2025 in Chicago, Illinois.

The Chicago Cubs did not have the best trade deadline by any standards, but they did improve in a couple of areas, like adding two bullpen arms, a depth starter, and a utility infielder.

Taylor Rodgers was traded twice before the July 31st deadline and ended up with the Cubs. Chicago also acquired Michael Soroka from the Washington Nationals, Willi Castro from the Minnesota Twins, and relief pitcher Andrew Kitteridge.

Unfortunately, this meant the end for dead weight on the Cubs roster, and one of those players who is no longer with Chicago is former World Series champion Ryan Pressly.

Cubs DFA Pressly, and Then Release Him

In what wasn’t the most shocking news, when the Chicago Cubs acquired the two new relievers, they had to make a couple of roster moves to clear space for the new arms. So, on July 31st, Chicago designated Pressly for assignment, but considering he’s an 11-year MLB veteran, he isn’t going to the minors. Instead, the Cubs just released Pressly on the first of the month.

Chicago acquired Pressly from the Houston Astros via trade back in January, and the thought was that he would take over the team’s closer role after a solid 2024 season.

However, things haven’t gone according to plan for Pressly this season. He has a 4.35 ERA over 41.1 innings and just four saves. The closer role for Chicago now belongs to Daniel Palencia. While the ERA doesn’t seem all that bad in his body of work, his strikeout numbers are way down, with just 28 punchouts in those 41.1 innings. He is getting hit much harder and walking a lot of batters. His BB/9 is 3.7, and Pressly has a WHIP of 1.524, so he is just allowing for far too many batters to reach base, and after a few rough outings after the All-Star break, Chicago’s front office had enough.

The Cubs still owe Pressly a little over $4.5 million this season, but that is okay, considering the Astros are still responsible for $5.5 million of his remaining three-year, $42 million deal that he signed before the 2023 season.

Pressly is a Former World Series Champion

If no team picks up Pressly and he calls it a career following this season, he has had a fine career. He helped tremendously in the Houston Astros’ 2022 playoff run, which culminated in winning the World Series. He had 33 saves in 2022 and an ERA of 2.98. Pressly followed that season up with 31 saves in 2023, and punched out 74 batters in 68.1 innings.

Over 11 innings in the 2022 playoffs, Pressly recorded six saves and had an ERA of 0.00.

The Cubs knew they were taking a flyer on the 36-year-old, but their front office got ahead of is, so that he doesn’t hurt their chances going forward. The Cubs are in a tight division race with the Milwaukee Brewers, and are going to need the best possible players out on the diamond every night, especially on the pitching side, if they want to take the division crown.

Chicago has been one of the most electric offenses in baseball this year, but pitching has been a bit of an issue over the last month or so, and they hope the trade acquisitions help down the stretch.