This One Promise Caused Former Houston Astros Star to Waive

The Houston Astros were able to move their star reliever after the Chicago Cubs made him a promise.

Houston Astros relief pitcher Ryan Pressly walks to the mound before the ninth inning against the Kansas City Royals.

This deal came with the understanding that he would ultimately have to waive his no-trade clause for it to happen, a decision that was made to get this deal finalized.

Pressly made use of his no-trade clause in a few instances. He declined the Toronto Blue Jays and Detroit Tigers as potential suitors during the process. Both teams were involved up until Jan. 24 when the list was cut down, and it ended up with the Cubs being the final candidate.

Recently, information came out as to why he decided to waive accept this move to Chicago rather than stick around with the Astros.

Bob Nightengale of USA TODAY stated Pressly was “reluctant” to waive the no-trade clause, but ultimately it came down to how he would be utilized by the Cubs.

The insider reported Pressly “finally agreed when informed that he would be the Cubs’ full-time closer and only a late-inning reliever for the Astros.”

Clearly, his preference is to be in those high-leverage situations where the team relies on him to get the save and close out a win.

When looking at arguably his best season with Houston in 2021, it’s easy to understand why.

That year, he had a 2.25 ERA, 0.969 WHIP, 81 strikeouts to 13 walks), and recorded 26 saves while he only gave up four home runs in the 64 innings he pitched.

In 2024 the Astros ultimately decided to move him out of the closer role in favor of their new signee Josh Hader, and Pressly went into a late-inning relief role instead.

This did not work out perfectly, as he posted a 3.49 ERA, 1.341 WHIP, 58 strikeouts to 18 walks, and ended up with four saves and gave up four home runs in the 56.2 innings he pitched.

While this is not a huge decline, especially when when factoring in his 2022 and 2023 numbers, he definitely seemed to perform better in a closer role rather than as a setup or late relief man.

Whether that is just because he prefers situations in which he is the last pitcher on the mound or it’s for a more technical reason, Chicago offered him the closing role which is what allowed Houston to move him and his contract out of town.