Tag: Cubs

CHICAGO — Ryan Pressly described it as one of the hardest decisions he has faced. The Astros’ request for him to waive his no-trade clause last week meant agreeing to move on from his family’s lifelong home and head into unfamiliar territory.

For seven seasons, Pressly played in Houston, where his wife is from and their kids grew up, only a few hours from his native Dallas. They would all have to be on board with a move to Chicago, where the Cubs offered a chance to close games for a franchise desperate to return to the postseason.

“It’s hard to leave your home,” Pressly said via Zoom on Wednesday. “But an opportunity to go play for the Cubs came about, and it was one of these opportunities that I don’t feel like comes around very often.”

When news broke on Sunday that Pressly had agreed to waive his no-trade clause, Cubs shortstop Dansby Swanson was quick to fire off a text to the pitcher to express his excitement. Chicago righty Jameson Taillon had already been in Pressly’s ear, and Pressly admitted that the starter “sold me on it pretty good.”

By Tuesday, everything was official: Pressly was going to the Cubs in exchange for Minor League pitcher Juan Bello. The Astros agreed to take on $5.5 million of Pressly’s $14 million salary for 2025 (sources told MLB.com) in a move that helped Houston’s payroll situation and answered Chicago’s need for an experienced late-inning arm.

“To go pitch in Wrigley is something that I’ve always wanted to do,” Pressly said. “I mean, even as a little kid, watching ‘Rookie of the Year’ and stuff like that. You never think that you’re going to be able to have the chance.”

It helped Pressly’s decision-making that there were some familiar faces with the North Siders, too.

Pressly and Cubs pitching coach Tommy Hottovy have known each other since their days as Red Sox farmhands. Chicago lefty Caleb Thielbar (signed Dec. 31) was a teammate of Pressly’s with the Twins. Kevin Poppe (named the Cubs’ head Major League strength and conditioning coach on Dec. 9) worked with Pressly at Dynamic Sports Training in Houston.

And then, of course, there was the blockbuster Dec. 13 trade between the Cubs and Astros that brought star outfielder Kyle Tucker to Chicago. Pressly said he believes Tucker is “starting to scratch the surface” on his talent level. He is also excited by the reports that the Cubs are at least kicking the tires on free-agent third baseman Alex Bregman.

“I would love to play with Breggy,” Pressly said. “He was the heartbeat of that clubhouse in Houston. … Having another familiar face on the team would be super helpful, and that left side of the infield would be really, really good. I still think we’re really good with or without him signing. But again, I would love to have him with us in Wrigley.”

In the meantime, Pressly is preparing for his new surroundings.

After a year spent as a setup man for Astros closer Josh Hader, the 36-year-old Pressly is looking forward to getting back into the ninth inning. Moving into a different role, combined with some mechanical issues Pressly said he tackled with Poppe this winter, might help explain the righty’s drops in velocity (93.8 mph in 2024 vs. 94.7 mph in ’23) and strikeout rate (23.8% in ’24 vs. 27.6% in ’23).

“I still feel like I can close, and I want to still prove that I can close,” Pressly said. “So, I figured I could go capitalize on that opportunity and see what happens.”

Pressly boasts 112 saves over a career that includes 30-plus save seasons in 2022 and ’23. He logged 102 of his saves from ’20-23 with a 2.99 ERA in 202 appearances for the Astros and notched the World Series-clinching save in ‘22. Pressly said he plans on “competing” for the closing duties this spring, noting how Porter Hodge had a standout rookie showing for the Cubs last season.

“I think we’re going to be a pretty dynamic duo in the back end of the bullpen,” Pressly said. “My job is just to go get three outs, four outs, five outs. It doesn’t matter. I just want to go do my job and be able to bring a win to the team and just help everybody be successful. I just want to win, honestly.”