The Chicago Cubs and Houston Astros have agreed on a trade that will send two-time All-Star reliever Ryan Pressly and a reported $5.5 million in cash to Chicago in exchange for right-handed pitcher Juan Bello, the teams announced Tuesday. Pressly has agreed to waive his no-trade clause as part of the arrangement.
This marks the second time this offseason these two teams have matched up on a big trade, following the swap of Kyle Tucker to the Cubs for Isaac Paredes along with two other pieces.
Pressly, 36, was removed from his role as Astros closer when they decided to sign free agent Josh Hader prior to last season. He pitched to a 3.49 ERA, 1.34 WHIP and struck out 58 in 56 ⅔ innings. He was the Astros' primary closer from 2021-23, a run that included him recording the final out of the 2022 World Series -- coincidentally a foul out to Tucker down the right field line.
Bello, 20, started 22 games in A-ball last season, compiling a 3.21 ERA and a 3.25 strikeout-to-walk ratio. FanGraphs' Eric Longenhagen recently ranked Bello as the 31st best prospect in the system, concluding that he "has enough projectability and existing stuff to be forecast in a depth starter role, but he'll need to harness his secondaries in the zone more often to consistently get more advanced hitters out and turn over a lineup."
The Cubs have a few relievers in house who have shown flashes of being able to handle late-inning work, such as Porter Hodge, Tyson Miller and Keegan Thompson, but they've been known to be on the on the lookout for a closer this offseason. They were reportedly in on Tanner Scott until the final stages, when he eventually signed with the Dodgers. In light of this, it seems very likely Pressly would immediately be named the Cubs closer before getting to camp for spring training while Hodge and Miller would serve as capable setup men.
Pressly is set to hit free agency after the 2025 season and will make $14 million this year. Whether the trade is about the Astros shedding his salary as general bookkeeping or as the first step of another move (like, say, bringing back Alex Bregman) remains to be seen.
Hader remains Houston's closer while Bryan Abreu is the primary setup man. The Astros will look to continue their run of making the playoffs every year with a ninth straight berth in 2025.
The Cubs haven't made the playoffs in a full season since 2018 and are coming off back-to-back 83-win seasons.
