Grading the Chicago Cubs-Houston Astros trade involving Ryan Pressly

The Chicago Cubs and Houston Astros came together to strike their second significant trade this off-season.  Previously, star Kyle Tucker was acquired by the Cubs for the steep price of infielder Isaac Paredes, third baseman Cam Smith, and right-handed pitcher Hayden Wesneski.

This time around, Chicago traded for closer Ryan Pressly while giving up just one prospect and also receiving cash.  In this article, we evaluate the trade and give the Cubs a letter grade.

Full Chicago Cubs-Houston Astros trade involving Ryan Pressly 

The full trade between the Cubs and Astros includes Ryan Pressly and cash heading to Chicago and 20 year old pitching prospect Juan Bello to Houston.  Pressly, who has one year left on his contract, is owed $14.0 million this year, but Houston is sending $5.5 million over in the trade, so Chicago will be responsible for the remaining $8.5 million.

Giving the Cubs a letter grade in the Ryan Pressly trade

This trade goes down as an A for the Cubs.  They acquired a Pressly, a proven closer with an impressive post season resume, and cash, for a prospect not ranked in their top 30 (per MLB Pipeline).  Even though Chicago will still have to pay more than half of Pressly’s salary, they should still have the financial resources to add another back end of the bullpen piece such as Ryne Stanek, David Robertson, or Kyle Finnegan.

Had Jed Hoyer chosen to sign one of the top closers available in free agency, like Carlos Estevez or Kenley Jansen, their cost would likely have exceeded $8.5 million. By capitalizing on an opportunity in Houston, the Cubs strengthened a key area of need without straining their payroll, both for this season and in the future.

Why did the Astros make this trade?

From the Astros perspective, this trade was more about dealing from a position of strength and shedding payroll.  Houston still has Josh Hader and Bryan Abreu as high leverage relievers, but now they may have carved a path to re-sign star third baseman Alex Bregman.

Earlier this off-season, Houston offered Bregman a six year, $156 million deal.  That deal is reportedly still on the table and Bregman may be more inclined to accept it now as reports from a few weeks ago indicated that other organizations, like the Cubs, were willing to offer a contract in the three year range with multiple opt outs.  Bregman supposedly is not interested in a short term deal.

It will be interesting to see what moves the Cubs and Astros make next following this trade, as both have been linked to Bregman. While Chicago may seem like a long shot to land a third former Houston player this off-season, they should at least consider jumping on the deferred money bandwagon in order to get a long term deal done.