MLB News: Astros' Ryan Pressly Traded to Cubs amid Alex Bregman Rumors

The Chicago Cubs and Houston Astros agreed to a trade Tuesday that sent reliever Ryan Pressly to the Windy City.

The Astros announced they acquired minor league pitcher Juan Bello in exchange for Pressly and cash considerations.

One possible motivation for the Astros could be moving on from Pressly and offloading his salary to facilitate a deal to bring back third baseman Alex Bregman.

Astros general manager Dana Brown told reporters this weekend that the the door was "cracked" open for a potential reunion, though he called it a "long shot."

"The interesting thing is when we made some trades and some moves this offseason, we never realized that Bregman would still be on the market at this time," he added. "I think we've had some conversations, and I can leave it there. As I mentioned, the interesting thing is that he's still available. It's not as if we're not talking about it. We've had some conversations."

According to Brian McTaggart of MLB.com, the Astros already offered Bregman a six-year, $156 million deal this winter and reportedly "wouldn't say 'no'" if he chose to accept that deal. Moving on from a portion of Pressly's salary could perhaps further facilitate talks.

The Astros did prepare contingencies for a potential Bregman departure, signing first baseman Christian Walker and trading for Isaac Edgardo Paredes as part of the deal that sent Kyle Tucker to the Cubs. But retaining Bregman would still be a best-case scenario.

As for Pressly, 36-year-old was 2-3 in the 2024 season with a 3.49 ERA, 1.34 WHIP, four saves and 58 strikeouts in 56.2 innings in a setup role. The long-time closer gave up ninth-inning duties to Josh Hader, however, making him somewhat expendable in the back-end of Houston's bullpen.

For the Cubs, he would likely be the frontrunner to handle the closer's role.