The Houston Astros found Ryan Pressly’s replacement last winter, and signaled their eagerness to trade him throughout this offseason. That push, combined with the pull of closing at Wrigley Field, led the All-Star reliever to waive his no-trade clause and approve a deal that sent him to the Chicago Cubs.
“It was tough to make this decision, probably one of the hardest decisions I’ve ever made,” Pressly said Wednesday. “But playing in Chicago has always been a dream of mine, and I’m excited to get out there and put on a Cubs uniform.”
That dream, Pressly said, is “something that I’ve always wanted to do, even as a little kid, watching ‘Rookie of the Year.’” At the same time, Pressly, 36, could have envisioned himself retiring with the Astros, walking away as one of the most clutch pitchers in franchise history and keeping Houston as his year-round home.
Illustrating that point, Pressly joined Wednesday’s video conference from a school parking lot before a parent-teacher conference. Pressly’s wife Kat is from Houston, and their children were born in Houston and attend school in the area.
“It’s hard to leave your home,” Pressly said. “But an opportunity to go play for the Cubs came about. It was one of these opportunities that I don’t feel like comes around very often. It was a great opportunity, so I’m just excited that the Cubs wanted me there.”
The Astros wanted to save money and agreed to cover $5.5 million of Pressly’s $14 million salary this season. Given their $95 million investment in All-Star closer Josh Hader, the Astros viewed Pressly as expendable.
While Pressly and Hader became friendly and worked well together last season, Astros general manager Dana Brown said the Hader addition created a “fracture” in the executive’s relationship with Pressly.
“Every bullpen guy wants to be the ninth-inning guy,” Pressly said. “We brought in Josh Hader, who’s an unbelievable relief pitcher, an unbelievable guy and a great teammate. Pitching in the eighth inning, setting him up, again, I just wanted to help the team win. (But) it was tough. You get demoted, and then you got to go out there and be professional and try to lead the right way.”
The Cubs believe Pressly, who notched the final out of the 2022 World Series for the Astros, will set a good example for their young pitchers and bring a sense of calm to the ninth inning.
“They said I would close some games,” Pressly said. “Porter Hodge was closing (for the Cubs at the end of last season). He had an unbelievable year. He put up great numbers. I think we’re going to be a pretty dynamic duo in the back end of the bullpen. I’m going to go into camp competing for that ninth-inning role.”
Pressly has already spoken with Cubs manager Craig Counsell and Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer. Pressly once overlapped with Cubs pitching coach Tommy Hottovy when they were both pitchers in the Boston Red Sox organization. Throughout this offseason, Pressly has already been working with Kevin Poppe, Chicago’s strength and conditioning coach who has a training business in Texas.
“Houston will always have a really, really special place in my heart,” Pressly said. “But sometimes it’s business, and you got to go somewhere else.”
