Cubs acquire Ryan Pressly, Astros cover $5.5 million of salary to complete trade
By Chandler Rome, Sahadev Sharma and Patrick Mooney
After All-Star reliever Ryan Pressly waived his no-trade clause, the Houston Astros and Chicago Cubs finalized the trade Tuesday, a significant move but one that still left each team with work to do late in the offseason.
The Astros will cover $5.5 million of Pressly's $14 million salary, according to a league source, and receive Juan Bello, a 20-year-old pitching prospect from the lower levels of Chicago's farm system. Bello, who originally signed with the Cubs out of Colombia in 2022, posted a 3.21 ERA in 22 starts last season with Class-A Myrtle Beach.
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While Pressly wasn't looking to leave Texas, it was made clear to him that the Astros desperately wanted to shed part of his salary and reallocate that money. As the corresponding move for adding Pressly to their 40-man roster, the Cubs designated reliever Matt Festa for assignment.
The Astros demoted Pressly last season after handing Josh Hader the closer's job and $95 million guaranteed. Though Pressly eventually became accustomed to the setup role, the idea of closing at Wrigley Field became an attractive alternative.
'Opportunistic' is the buzzword around the Cubs as the organization tries to be nimble in case a larger deal at the right price presents itself while continuing to add role players for the bench and the bullpen. Alex Bregman remains a free agent, and both Chicago and Houston have expressed interest in the All-Star third baseman, according to sources briefed on those discussions.
But there are persistent questions about the flexibility within the Cubs' budget for baseball operations, and the Astros are also treading carefully around the $241 million luxury tax threshold. With less than two weeks to go until the start of spring training, the Cubs also haven't shut down trade discussions.
Now would appear to be a good time to think bigger, given the lackluster state of the National League Central and the short-term moves the Cubs have already made to try to return to the playoffs for the first time since 2020.
Trading for Pressly, a 36-year-old reliever on an expiring contract, followed the Cubs' blockbuster acquisition of Kyle Tucker from the Astros. Tucker is also positioned to become a free agent after this season, and maximizing their time with one of the sport's best all-around players should be a priority.
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Chicago Tribune
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New York Times
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New York Times
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Which Chicago sports team will win a championship next? Cubs favored over Bears
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Also, the Rockies are threatening to make the 2024 White Sox team an afterthought outside of Chicago. The Blackhawks have Connor Bedard and other young, talented hockey players, but haven't taken a step forward in terms of actually winning games, which is the preferred result of a rebuild. Advertisement The Bulls continue to strive for mediocracy. They just missed out on Cooper Flagg in this year's draft lottery and seemed destined to finish once again in ninth place in the East. The Sky look positively White Sox-ish this season with its skewed results against good WNBA teams. Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso might really be the second coming of Jerry Krause's interesting, but ultimately ill-fated, Tyson Chandler and Eddy Curry idea. Which leads us back to our original question: Which Chicago team will win a championship next? We found some odds for that. For this exercise, The Athletic poked around and got some hypothetical numbers. 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The Cubs have a solid core, and it's hard to imagine, in my opinion, that they wouldn't sign Kyle Tucker after trading for him. The Bears have the No. 1 overall pick in quarterback Caleb Williams. We expect to see improvement from him and his new offensive line this season. Advertisement 'The Bulls have pieces, but the NBA is reliant on having a star player, and until they get a top-of-the-line guy, they'll stay where they are. The White Sox are far away and will need development from prospects to become competitive again, giving them a longer timeline. The Blackhawks have Bedard but still have quite a lot of work to do before becoming Stanley Cup contenders.' DraftKings director of sports operations Johnny Avello didn't go as crazy with the underdog odds, but his order is exactly the same, with the Chicago Sky thrown in too. Avello has the Cubs at +220, followed by the Sky at +350. Then come the Bears at +400, the Blackhawks at +600, Bulls at +1000 and the White Sox at +1500. 'The Cubs lead the pack, with a legitimate chance to contend for a title as soon as this season,' Avello told The Athletic. 'While the Sky, Bears and Blackhawks may seem further from championship contention, each team is building toward a brighter future. The Bulls and White Sox are currently long shots, but it's worth remembering how unpredictable sports can be — team fortunes can turn quickly. That's why even the White Sox, coming off one of the worst seasons in MLB history, would still be listed at +1500.' The pecking order is pretty clear at the top, though I might juggle the bottom teams a little bit. Let's say I put out my own shingle as an oddsmaker like my fellow Steubenville native Jimmy 'The Greek' Snyder, who actually started with a real office in our hometown with 'B&F Commissioner' on the door. B&F stood for baseball and football. I'd start with the Cubs -110 because they actually have a shot of winning it all this season. They have the sixth-best odds on BetMGM as of June 20 at +1300. I don't know if I share Egeland's optimism about the Cubs signing Tucker, but I think 'win-now mode' is here for the next five years and if chairman Tom Ricketts gets his way in the upcoming labor battle with the players, we might see even more restrictions on top spenders like the Dodgers, Mets and Yankees, thus evening the field for the less-profligate Cubs owners. Advertisement Next, I'd go with the Bears at +400. If Williams can pilot Johnson's offense, they're a legitimate threat, and the NFL is the one league where you can make a quick jump from also-ran to legit contender. Johnson is the most accomplished assistant coach the Bears have hired since Dave Wannstedt, and I think he'll have a better run in Chicago. If Johnson can make GM Ryan Poles look smarter and Williams play better, they'll speak of him in Ditka-esque terms in the city. After that, it's really a coin flip, right? I'll go with Blackhawks +750 (at least they have a star in Bedard) and then the White Sox +1200, the Sky +1500 and the Bulls +2500. Remember, this isn't winning a title sometime in the future, it's being the first of these six teams in Chicago to do it. The Bulls and the Sky have easier paths to the playoffs, but winning a title seems almost impossible with their rosters and current draft assets. The Bulls, for example, have the third-worst odds to win a title in 2026 currently at DraftKings, at +40000. Matas Buzelis is a nice young player, but this isn't an organization that's really serious about winning it all. I'm not getting many good vibes about the Sky, though I do think Reese can be a Joakim Noah-like figure for the franchise. Lastly, while I wouldn't exactly invest in White Sox futures, I think they have a better shot of winning another one than either the Bulls or the Sky right now. GM Chris Getz has made some smart hires, and the prospects look promising. By the time Justin Ishbia takes over, this town might still be in a title drought, and the Sox could be ascendant. And hey, depending on your belief system, they just might have God on their side. I might bet on that. (Illustration: Demetrius Robinson / The Athletic; top photos: Matt Dirksen / Chicago Cubs, John Fisher / Getty Images, Bob Frid / Imagn Images)
