Closer Ryan Pressly Close to Being Traded to Cubs, But …

Ryan Pressly, New Cubs Closer? — After coming up short in their efforts to sign Tanner Scott and balking at the asking price of Kirby Yates, the Chicago Cubs are reportedly close to finding their new ninth-inning man. Turning back to the trade market – and back to the Astros, no less – the Cubs are reportedly close to acquiring 2024 set-up man and former closer Ryan Pressly. But naturally, there is some debate on just how close this deal really is to being done.

Ryan Pressly to the Cubs … Maybe

Bob Nightengale, who’s actually been more right than wrong lately, but absolutely has a checkered past in terms of accuracy, says the Cubs are “on the verge of acquiring closer Ryan Pressly from the Astros” on X.

But an Astros beat writer at The Athletic, Chandler Rome, pumps the brakes in a very big way, citing Pressly’s no-trade clause.

I am going to lean into Rome’s refutation here, because of his closeness to the team and better track record. Though I do think a trade for Ryan Pressly has always been a possibility, perhaps especially after the Cubs whiffed on Scott.

Consider a few facts for a moment:

1. We more or less know the Cubs are more serious than usual about acquiring an established back-end reliever to close games this season. They’ve said it with their words and showed it with their actions in their atypically significant (for them) offer to Tanner Scott. So a move for Pressly is hardly out of nowhere.
2. The Cubs and Astros likely know each other’s system particularly well right now following their early offseason trade for Kyle Tucker. We’ve seen this story play out a dozen times before – two teams get together on one trade early and that greases the wheels for a different deal down the line.
3. And most importantly, Ryan Pressly was just yesterday mentioned as a potential Cubs trade target by The Athletic.

So, if I had to guess, this is coming down to his no-trade clause. Or to put that even more simply: I’d bet the Cubs and Astros have a fully agreed-to trade in place and all parties are waiting on Pressly to waive his no-trade clause. Perhaps he’ll put some pressure on the Cubs to sweeten his deal before accepting, but I don’t think Nightengale is otherwise “wrong.”

For what it’s worth, Pressly has just one more year ($14M) of team control. And he’s also 36 years old. He’s probably hoping the Cubs can tack on an additional year or option for him before he makes the switch.

In terms of attractiveness, there’s plenty to like about Ryan Pressly, even though he “lost” his closer job to Josh Hader last season. With that said, his strikeout rate has dropped considerably in recent years and his fastball is down a couple of clicks, as well. We’ll dig in deeper, but for now, I have to press publish and get this news in front of you before something changes. Stay tuned!

Continuing: Pressly tossed 56.2 innings last season, earning a 3.49 ERA with four saves and 25 holds. He saved 31 games in 2023, 33 games in 2022, and 26 games in 2021. And while he was once a 32K%+ guy (2018-2022), he dropped to 27.6% in 2023 and 23.8% last season. Likewise, his once 96 MPH fastball was down to just 93.9 MPH last season. But that doesn’t mean there’s nothing to like.

Last season, Ryan Pressly generated a 48.8% groundball rate, which is excellent, and a 7.8% barrel rate. He also doesn’t walk very many guys and seems to have been pretty darn unlucky in terms of BABIP (.333 last season, but .294 for his career). With his experience and continued success, there’s no doubt he’d upgrade the Cubs bullpen. The question is really about how much the Cubs would be giving up in player cost and how much of that $14M they’re taking on.

Ideally, the Cubs would be able to swing a trade for Pressly and still go out there and sign more players. They have the payroll space, even considering the possibility of an overall drop in available dollars.

UPDATE: Other reporters are chiming in to confirm Rome, noting that Ryan Pressly has not yet waived his no-trade clause.

UPDATE: The Cubs are reportedly also talking to David Robertson about a reunion:

Ageless David Robertson has talked to Cubs about returning as a backend bullpen man. Robertson is one of the few players who does not use an agent.Cubs had interest in Paul Seward before he signed with Cleveland.Robby pitched for Cubs in 2022.99 K in 72 innings in 24.— Bruce Levine (@MLBBruceLevine) January 24, 2025

A back-up plan in case Pressly says no? A guy to pair WITH Pressly if the Cubs can get the Astros to eat enough salary? Or just leverage to try to get a Pressly deal done? We shall see.