The Houston Astros are still in play to bring back Alex Bregman, an essential player on the team, after trading reliever Ryan Pressly to the Chicago Cubs. This alteration gives the Astros greater spending flexibility, crucial for restarting talks with the two-time All-Star. It was reported earlier that the key player for the Astros was going to leave in free agency after negotiations stalled, but a recent tip suggests they are committing to keeping him.
According to USA Today MLB insider Bob Nightengale, the Pressly trade has cleared a significant hurdle. He wrote the following on X, formerly Twitter.
“The Ryan Pressly trade now opens the door wide for Alex Bregman’s return to the Houston Astros. The Astros needed to move Pressly before the Bregman acquisition could become realistic.”
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The deal reduced Houstan’s payroll costs by $8.5 million for 2025, which is one of the pivotal gains of this trade. The Astros’ first offer to Bregman, 30, was $156 million over six years, but he is said to be looking for something around $200 million. In the 2024 season, Bregman had a batting average of .260, a .315 on-base percentage, and a .453 slugging percentage. He hit 26 home runs, had 79 RBI, and scored 75 runs.
Ryan Pressly, 36, has been a big part of Houston’s bullpen, putting up a 3.49 ERA in 59 games last season with 58 strikeouts in just over 56 innings. After Josh Hader joined on a five-year $95 million deal and took over as closer, Pressly moved to a setup role. Trading him not only cuts costs but also gives younger pitchers like Bryan Abreu and Tayler Scott a chance to shine. It’s part of Houston’s busy offseason, which has already seen Kyle Tucker traded to the Cubs and Christian Walker signed to fill some gaps.
For the Cubs, Pressly brings experience and consistency to a bullpen that had its share of challenges during their 83-79 season. He even waived his no-trade clause to make the move happen, indicating that he is ready for a new start. The Cubs are looking at him as a possible closer, which could give them some much-needed stability as they try to improve next season.
