Toronto Blue Jays Land Ryan Pressly in Proposed Deal With Houston Astros

In a recent trade propsal, the Houston Astros send Ryan Pressly to the Toronto Blue Jays.

Oct 2, 2024; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Astros pitcher Ryan Pressly (55) prepares to throw against the Detroit Tigers during the eighth inning of game two of the Wildcard round for the 2024 MLB Playoffs at Minute Maid Park. / Thomas Shea-Imagn Images

The Houston Astros are heading into the Winter Meetings with a lot of questions left unanswered so far this offseason. 

After a disappointing end to the 2024 season for the Astros, they are going to be working on trying to keep their core intact this offseason, while likely trying to find a way to improve as well. 

The big elephant in the room for Houston is what is going to happen with Alex Bregman in free agency. The star third baseman is the best available at his position, and he could have numerous suitors once the Juan Soto sweepstakes comes to a close. 

With Bregman looking for a massive contract, he simply might be too expensive as of now for the Astros. While Houston isn’t a cheap team, they also don’t have the same amount of resources as some of the top spenders in the league. Due to a couple of bad contracts being on the books, Houston might have to let Bregman walk if the price gets too high. 

Recently, Tim Kelly of Bleacher Report proposed a deal that could help save some money for the Astros during the Winter Meetings, and that would be to trade Ryan Pressly to the Toronto Blue Jays. 

“Particularly if the Astros would be willing to eat, say, $4 million, of Pressly's salary for 2025, there could be a real market for him. There will be some teams who would view the two-time All-Star as their closer, considering he racked up 90 saves between 2021 and 2023. Others would be fine to give him around $10 million to be their top set-up man. Pressly does have a full no-trade clause, but if a team like the Blue Jays—who were 29th in bullpen ERA this past season—offers him the chance to close, he could be open to waiving it.”

If Houston is willing to hang on to some of Pressly’s contract, this deal could make a lot of sense for both sides. 

The Blue Jays are in desperate need of improving a bullpen that was one of the worst in baseball last season, and the right-hander could either be a great setup man, or potentially a closer for them. 

While he does hold a no-trade clause, Toronto is hoping to be a contender in 2025, and if they offer to make him the closer, it could be appealing. 

Even though it would basically be a salary cap dump, that money could end up being the difference to whether Bregman is re-signed or not. If that’s the case, it’s a no-brainer for the Astros.