(670 The Score) The Cubs and Astros reached an agreement late last week to send reliever Ryan Pressly from Houston to Chicago, but the deal also hinged on Pressly waiving his no-trade clause.
Pressly, 36, spent the weekend considering his options before accepting the trade to the Cubs. He made the move because of the opportunity to play in Chicago and to close games for a team that's trying to contend. The closer's job wasn't available for him in Houston, where the Astros have star closer Josh Hader on duty in the ninth inning.
“Obviously, it was a very difficult decision leaving Houston,” Pressly said on the Bernstein & Harris Show on Wednesday. “This is where my family is at, where we live. I’ve had a lot of success here, fans are great here, teammates were awesome, organization was great. (But) an opportunity presents itself and you get a chance to pitch in one of the more historical ballparks and put on a pretty historical uniform, you don’t get those opportunities very often. When it came about, long, hard conversations with family and friends, and we ultimately decided that this is something we wanted to pursue.
“They told me that I was going to be the ninth-inning role, but in my mindset I’m going to go into camp competing for that role, because you obviously know everything is not guaranteed in this game. I just want to have that mindset, go in there competing and always competing. In the long run, I just want to help this team win. The goal is to not just win this division but win the entire thing.”
Pressly played for the Astros for the past seven seasons, which included winning the World Series in 2022 with Houston. He spent the first six years of his career with the Twins.
Pressly has a 3.27 ERA and 112 saves in his 13-year MLB career. He had a 3.49 ERA and 1.34 WHIP in 59 games in 2024.
The Cubs will open the regular season on March 18 in Tokyo, where they'll meet the Dodgers.