It has been a strong offseason for the Chicago Cubs, who are looking to take a big step forward in 2025.
For the past couple of seasons, the Cubs have been good, but not great. After winning 83 games for two straight years, Chicago came into the offseason looking to improve.
They certainly have accomplished that, starting the winter with a blockbuster trade to acquire outfielder Kyle Tucker from the Houston Astros. The addition of Tucker will help their lineup immensely and give them a true star.
While acquiring a star for their lineup was a goal, they also needed to upgrade their bullpen this offseason. They started by acquiring Eli Morgan from the Cleveland Guardians. Furthermore, despite a lot of talented relief pitchers in free agency, Chicago once again elected to work the trade market to make improvements.
Zachary D. Rymer of Bleacher Report recently graded some offseason moves that have occurred in the past couple of weeks. For the Cubs, he gave them a solid grade of a ‘B’ for their acquisition of Ryan Pressly from the Astros.
“The Cubs needed a late-inning reliever to slot alongside Porter Hodge, Tyson Miller, and Nate Pearson. And in Pressly, they’re getting oodles of experience.”
Getting Pressly is a really good addition to Chicago. The veteran right-hander has pitched in all of the big moments and will provide them with a solid first option as the closer heading into 2025.
After Houston elected to sign Josh Hader and moved Pressly into the setup role last year, it seemingly opened the door for him to potentially be moved.
In 2024, it wasn’t the best year for the right-hander, totaling a 3.49 ERA and (2-3) record. However, he was the closer the previous three seasons with the Astros, and with Porter Hodge being so young, adding a pitcher with closing experience was important.
When looking at the trade, Houston also sent back a good amount of money to help make this deal work. For Chicago, they didn’t have to give up much in terms of prospects in Juan Bello, and they also don’t have to worry about paying Pressly a ton with it being the final year of his contract.
Overall, the deal makes a lot of sense for the Cubs. The two-time All-Star has experience pitching in big spots, which will be important for a young team that mostly hasn’t been in the postseason.
After being a weakness in 2024, the bullpen is shaping up to be quite good for Chicago heading into 2025.