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Why new Cubs reliever Ryan Pressly decided to waive no-trade clause for Chicago

1 week agoAndy Martinez

On its surface, making the jump from a setup man to a potential closer would be a relatively simple decision for a relief pitcher.

For Ryan Pressly, it was quite the opposite to make that bump from being the Astros’ setup guy to — potentially — the Cubs closer.

“It came about, and having a lot of long, hard conversations with family and friends,” Pressly said on Wednesday. “It was tough to make this decision, probably one of the hardest decisions I’ve ever made.”

[What Cubs bullpen looks like with Ryan Pressly in the mix]

That’s because Houston had become home to him and his family.

Pressly is a Dallas native and his wife, Kat, is from the Space City and they live in the city year-round. In his introductory Zoom press conference, Pressly was seated in his car in Houston, waiting to go to a parent-teacher conference for his kids.

But circumstances — most out of his control — led to the move.

Last offseason, the Astros splurged on free agent reliever Josh Hader, and he supplanted Pressly out of the closer role. Then, this offseason, Houston was looking to shed salary and a $14 million setup man was deemed excess and he was on the trading block all winter.

That’s where Jed Hoyer and the Cubs came in. They had added volume to their reliever corps this winter but lacked a true closer at the back of their bullpen. Porter Hodge’s 9 saves in his rookie campaign were the most of any pitcher on the 40-man roster.

[WATCH: Ryan Pressly’s full introductory press conference]

When a deal was struck, it was on Pressly to waive his no-trade clause — one that he had earned due to his 10-and-5 rights; he had 10 years of major-league service time and the last five in Houston. Eventually, though, he decided Chicago was the way to go.

“It’s hard to leave your home, but again, an opportunity to go play for the Cubs came about, and it was one of these opportunities [that] I don’t feel like comes around very often, and it was a great opportunity,” Pressly said. “I’m just excited that the Cubs wanted me there. And like I said, it’s always been kind of a dream. I’m excited to be there.”

As he mulled a life-changing decision, his future teammates tried to pitch and recruit him to come to Chicago. Jameson Taillon, who is from The Woodlands, a suburb 28 miles north of Houston, shared a trainer with Pressly. Caleb Thielbar, who the Cubs signed this offseason, spent time with the All-Star reliever in Minnesota. Dansby Swanson was in communication with him, too.

Pressly came up in the Red Sox organization — he was drafted in the 11th round by Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer — with pitching coach Tommy Hottovy, too.

“Those are the main guys that have reached out,” Pressly said. “We’re heading out [to Arizona] Sunday, so I’m sure I’m gonna meet everybody.

“Skip [Craig Counsell] called me yesterday and talked to him for 10-15 minutes, talked to Jed. Everybody’s been welcoming with open arms. It’s going to be exciting. I can’t wait.”

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