The Astros have had inside conversations about the opportunity of buying and selling Ryan Pressly, studies Chandler Rome of the Athletic. Whereas that’d be a logical solution to clear payroll area, a deal is difficult by the reliever’s full no-trade rights.
Pressly has a decade of MLB service and has spent five-plus seasons in Houston. Gamers who meet that standards have full no-trade safety below the collective bargaining settlement. Pressly might rapidly halt commerce consideration if he has no need to go away. (Rome notes that the pitcher’s spouse Kat is a Houston native.)
If Pressly is amenable to shifting, that will go a protracted solution to opening spending room for the group. The Astros are attempting to re-sign Alex Bregman. They may search for assist at first base and within the outfield. RosterResource already tasks subsequent season’s luxurious tax quantity round $234MM. That’s $7MM shy of the bottom threshold. They’d have to go properly into tax territory to retain Bregman. Even when they let the star third baseman stroll, they’re prone to push above the tax line for what’d be a second straight yr. They’d be topic to increased penalties for exceeding the brink in back-to-back seasons.
Basic supervisor Dana Brown admitted final month that the state of affairs might require the Astros to be “inventive” with their payroll. Probably the most simple resolution — topic to the no-trade problems — is a Pressly deal. The righty triggered a $14MM vesting possibility for his age-36 season. That’s a dear sum for a pitcher who misplaced his spot within the ninth inning when the Astros signed Josh Hader final winter. Pressly featured prominently on MLBTR’s record of the highest offseason commerce candidates in consequence.
Whereas the Astros might not be eager on a $14MM wage, one other group might assume that to plug Pressly into the ninth inning. He closed in Houston between 2020-23, locking down 30+ saves in every of the latter two seasons. Pressly hasn’t posted a season with an ERA above 4.00 throughout his six-plus years with the Astros, although his outcomes have trended barely downward over the past two seasons.
After delivering consecutive sub-3.00 showings in 2021-22, Pressly has allowed an ERA round 3.50 for the previous couple years. He allowed 3.49 earned runs per 9 over 56 2/3 innings this previous season. His 23.3% strikeout proportion and 48.8% grounder charge, whereas stable, have been every under typical ranges. Pressly’s strikeout and whiff charges have dropped in consecutive years. His 93.8 MPH common fastball velocity was down a tick in comparison with final season.
Pressly seems to be on a slight decline, although he stays a top quality late-game arm. A $14MM wage is concerning the vary he’d anticipate as a free agent. The Orioles dedicated $13MM to Craig Kimbrel final winter, whereas the Pirates signed Aroldis Chapman for $10.5MM. The Rangers added David Robertson on a deferred $11.5MM deal. Pressly falls into that bucket of one-time star closers who’re nonetheless efficient however not as dominant as they have been at their peak. The Astros might in all probability discover a taker for almost all or all the cash, however groups aren’t going to half with important prospect capital to amass what is actually a market worth contract.
Hader might be again within the ninth inning. Bryan Abreu stays a superb setup possibility. A Pressly commerce would put extra strain on the likes of Tayler Scott and doubtlessly Bryan King to show themselves able to pitching significant innings.
