Astros’ Ryan Pressly trade return is quietly embarrassing the Cubs

The Houston Astros made two separate trades this with the Chicago Cubs this past offseason. Obviously most of the focus was on the Kyle Tucker trade, but Houston also dealt former closer Ryan Pressly to the North Siders. Though is was a rather innocuous trade at the time, the Astros' return, coupled with Pressly's struggles, may have made Houston the clear winner in this scenario.

With Josh Hader and Bryan Abreu set to lockdown the eighth and ninth innings, the Astros didn't need to keep Pressly on the roster. Houston was shopping the right-hander throughout the entire offseason, and were able to offload Pressly and his $14 million salary at the end of January.

Houston sent some cash considerations along with Pressly — covering a little less than half of the reliever's 2025 salary — and received minor-league pitcher Juan Bello in return. Bello was an international signee from Columbia who started 22 games in the Cubs' minor-league system last season. Not much was known about Bello at the time of his arrival, but over the past couple of weeks, the 21-year-old has begun to turn a few heads.

Astros prospect Juan Bello could make the Cubs regret trading for Ryan Pressly

Through his first five games of the season at High-A Fayetteville, Bello logged three starts and covered 18 innings while posting a 7.00 ERA with 17 strikeouts and 13 walks. Those are not the type of numbers you want to see from a prospect at any level.

Over his three appearances, however, Bello seems to have caught fire. The right-hander has a spotless 0.00 ERA since May 7 and has 12 punch outs in 12 innings pitched while walking just three batters. During his last two starts, Bello hasn't even allowed a hit. Bello's 22.1% strikeout rate is promising, and if the free passes continue to plummet, all of the sudden it appears that Houston may have found something of value in exchange for Pressly.

As for the former Astros' hurler, he's had a rough go of things in the Windy City. In 19 appearances out of the Cubs' bullpen, Pressly has as many walks (9) as strikeouts (9). No one is going to crush Pressly for an 11.4% walk rate, but when it's equal to your strikeout rate, there's a problem. His 4.52 FIP compared to his 5.71 ERA suggests Pressly's been a bit unlucky, but neither of numbers are worth the $8.5 million Chicago is paying this season.

Seeing as how Hader and Abreu are holding down the backend of the Astros bullpen, while Bello is beginning to come into his own in the minors, it would appear as if Houston made the right choice cutting ties with Pressly when they did.

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