Astros Get Under the Tax, Trade Ryan Pressly to the Cubs

The Chicago Cubs have acquired reliever Ryan Pressly from the Houston Astros in exchange for 20-year-old pitching prospect Juan Bello.

Pressly, who the Astros have aggressively shopped this offseason, will solidify the back-end of the bullpen for a team with playoff aspirations, having posted a 3.49 ERA over 56.2 innings last season.

According to ESPN’s Jeff Passan, the Astros are sending money to Chicago to cover parts of Pressly’s $14 million salary. 

In Low-A last season, Bello pitched to a 3.21 ERA over 22 starts, throwing 89.2 innings and striking out 91.

Pressly waived his full no-trade clause to be a Cub, and he’ll join the likes of Porter Hodge, Tyson Miller and Eli Morgan in the back end of the bullpen.

With the Cubs still interested in some of the remaining free agents relievers on the market, what was somewhat of a weakness last year in the reliever core is starting to look like a strength. 

The Cubs bullpen finished 12th in ERA and 17th in FIP last year, according to Fangraphs, but the additions of Morgan, Pressly and another potential top end arm would take less pressure off the rotation and provide more options for second-year Cubs manager Craig Counsell. 

The Cubs completed their second trade with the Astros this offseason, acquiring outfielder Kyle Tucker at the Winter Meetings and now acquiring Pressly. 

In the trade, the Astros free themselves of some of Pressly’s $14 million salary they’ve been trying to shed all winter. Just $3 million over the luxury tax before the trade, the Astros are now presumably under, which gives them room to acquire a more decently talented lefty-hitting outfielder like GM Dana Brown is rumored to want. 

The trading of Pressly could be a prerequisite for another acquisition for Houston. ESPN’s Bob Nightengale says the door hasn’t closed on an Alex Bregman reunion, and while they’re a little too late to the Jurickson Profar sweepstakes, the team’s previous interest in Alex Verdugo could come to fruition. 

With dependable outfield options on the free agent market dwindling down, Houston could also try to add a serviceable arm for the rotation that would relegate the newly acquired Hayden Wesneski to a relief/sixth starter role. 

While there could be a lot of Bregman to the Astros rumors in the coming days, the real story for the Astros is getting under the first luxury tax threshold. 

Because they paid the tax for the first time last season, tax penalties would have increased had Houston gone over for a second consecutive year.

Now, with roughly $69 million in payroll coming off the books after the 2025 season, the Astros are set to head into next offseason with room for impact additions.