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Ryan Pressly (Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)
After days of negotiations, the Astros traded former closer Ryan Pressly to the Cubs for righthanded pitching prospect Juan Bello on Sunday. The Astros also sent money to the Cubs to cover a portion of Pressly’s salary. Pressly signed a two year extension prior to the 2023 season that paid him $30 million over the length of the contract, and the Astros picked up his vesting option for 2025 at $14 million before the season. With the deal, the Cubs add an experienced reliever to their much-maligned bullpen. The Cubs had the 20th-rated bullpen in 2024 per fWAR with 26 blown saves.
CUBS RECEIVE
Ryan Pressly, RHP
Age: 36
Over the last seven seasons, few relievers have been as consistently good as Pressly. Dating back to 2018, only former Astros teammate Josh Hader and Mets closer Edwin Diaz have been more valuable, per fWAR. In 393 appearances over the last seven seasons, Pressly has pitched to a 2.88 ERA, 2.70 xFIP, 31.2% strikeout rate and 6.6% walk rate. He mixes a four-seam fastball at 93-95 mph with an upper-80s slider, a low-80s curveball and a changeup. Pressly’s slider is his bread and butter and has graded as a plus pitch dating back to his early seasons with the Twins. A balance of bat-missing ability and groundball-generating make him a valuable asset, while his ability to handle high-leverage moments immediately upgrades the Cubs’ bullpen.
ASTROS RECEIVE
Juan Bello, RHP
Age: 20
Signed by the Cubs out of Colombia in February 2022, Bello made his full-season debut with Low-A Myrtle Beach in 2024. Over 22 starts spanning 89.2 innings with the Pelicans, Bello posted a 3.21 ERA with 91 strikeouts to 28 walks. He mixes a low-90s fastball with above-average ride, a low-80s slider, a mid-80s changeup and a mid-70s curveball with heavy two-plane break. Bello found success mixing up his trio of secondaries with near-even usage this season, generating above-average whiff numbers against each. He fits the Astros’ organizational philosophy of developing pitchers with three or more secondaries to play off of their fastball.
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