Astros’ Ryan Pressly takes emphatic stance to squash Cubs trade rumors

Eric Cole

Wild Card Series - Detroit Tigers v Houston Astros - Game 2 / Tim Warner/GettyImages

The Houston Astros are no strangers to the perils of a no-trade clause in trade negotiations this offseason. Before their deal to send Kyle Tucker to the Cubs, the Astros were extremely close to acquiring Nolan Arenado from the Cardinals before he exercised his no-trade rights to scuttle the deal.

These things happen and as long as guys keep getting no-trade clauses in their contracts, they will keep using them to dictate where they end up. Unfortunately, the Astros are seemingly on the other side of the same coin right now with Ryan Pressly.

Pressly has been a popular candidate to get traded this offseason due to the presence of Josh Hader at the end of games and the decidedly not small amount of money he is making at the moment. Assuming Houston could find a taker for most of his salary, that felt like the move the Astros most wanted to make.

On Thursday, it appeared as though there was momentum towards yet another trade with the Cubs that would have sent Pressly to Chicago. However, it appears as though Pressly is flexing his own muscle when it comes to his no-trade clause.

Houston Astros setup man Ryan Pressly has not waived his no-trade clause, source tells @TheAthletic. Teams have checked in, but he has NOT waived his no-trade clause. He is a member of the Astros.
— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) January 23, 2025

Ryan Pressly has yet to waive no-trade clause as Cubs rumors swirl

While we don't know exactly how close a potential trade with the Cubs was/is involving Pressly, it is certainly a problem if Pressly won't actually consent to a trade. Unless Pressly agrees to be dealt, he isn't getting dealt. However, his position is probably a bit more fluid than Arenado's.

While Arenado is at the stage of his career where he is fine picking and choosing where he ends up, Pressly is in a situation where he isn't closing anymore and could benefit from an increased role elsewhere. There is a good chance that he isn't rubber stamping any trades until he either gets some sort of guarantee that he will be the guy closing games or some other perks.

We'll see if this is a short-term hiccup or a major hitch in the Astros' plans. The one thing that is clear is that Houston is definitely not done wheeling and dealing this offseason.

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Eric Cole

I started my career writing about baseball covering the Atlanta Braves for SB Nation's Talking Chop back in 2015 which has since been renamed Battery Power. After years of writing for those fine folks, I made the decision to take over as Site Expert at House That Hank Built before becoming a full-time MLB Staff Writer for FanSided in 2023. Along the way, I have been a guest on multiple ESPN radio affiliates as well as 680 The Fan and 92.9 The Game to discuss Braves baseball and especially Braves prospects and was a long-time host on the Battery Power podcast. These days, I continue to write about the Braves as well as covering the Astros, Padres, and Angels with particular expertise with minor league coverage, the MLB Draft, and bashing Anthony Rendon when possible. When I am not writing about or talking about baseball (which is seldom), I am an avid baseball card collector (Maddux and Soroka being my primary personal collections) and I also collect shark teeth. All other sports are mostly dead to me as my Bills have broken my heart too many times.