Chicago Cubs acquire Houston Astros big name closer in blockbuster deal

The Chicago Cubs needed to go out and find a backend of the bullpen piece or even a possible closer to pair with their emerging late-inning star Porter Hodge and solid setup man Tyson Miller. 

The Cubs were linked in recent reports to be in the market to trade for All-Star Closer Ryan Pressly of the Houston Astros in which they got as far as having a tentative deal in place for one. 

All that was needed to put the finishing touches on the deal was for Pressly to waive his no-trade clause and it looks like he finally did. 

The Chicago Cubs to acquire Pressly

According to ESPN’s Jeff Passan Pressly is willing to waive his no-trade clause and a deal has been reached between the Astros and Cubs to send Pressly along with cash to Chicago. 

“The Chicago Cubs are finalizing a trade to acquire closer Ryan Pressly from the Houston Astros, pending medical review, sources tell ESPN. Pressly will waive his no-trade clause to Chicago to facilitate the move, and Houston will send money to help cover his $14 million salary.”

The Chicago Cubs are finalizing a trade to acquire closer Ryan Pressly from the Houston Astros, pending medical review, sources tell ESPN. Pressly will waive his no-trade clause to Chicago to facilitate the move, and Houston will send money to help cover his $14 million salary.

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) January 26, 2025

The 36-year-old Pressly is one of the post-season closers in recent history with 14 career post-season saves and has a total of 112 career saves to his credit. Pressly was solid as the Astros setup man in 2024 accumulating a record of 2-3 with a 3.49 ERA with 58 strikeouts in 56.2 innings pitched. 

According to Pressly’s Baseball Savant, he was solid in two areas ranking in the 81st percentile for chase percentage and the 85th percentile for groundball percentage. Both should work well for the Cubs who are one of the better defensive teams in the National League. 

A dominant backend of the bullpen

Now that the Cubs have acquired their closer their offseason is now virtually complete. With the acquisition of Pressly the Cubs will have one of the better backends of the bullpens in the National League. Porter Hodge was emerging to be the Cubs’ next closer tallying nine saves last season, but will look to be an elite setup man for Pressly as he will once again take on the closer’s role. 

Now the Cubs can add to the edges of the roster

With the heavy lifting now all but done for the Cubs, they can now look to add more depth pieces and possibly more arms to fill in the rotation or another lefty for the bullpen. 

Pressly adds so much value to the Cubs and further makes their roster deep to hopefully make a run at not only the National League Central but a deep post-season run.