Cubs designate two-time All-Star for assignment

The Chicago Cubs have designated right-hander Ryan Pressly for assignment, according to The Athletic’s Patrick Mooney. The move opens up roster space for newly-acquired reliever Taylor Rogers.

Pressly has well over 11 years of MLB service time, so he can’t be optioned to the minors without his consent. In all likelihood, the DFA will end with the Cubs just releasing the veteran reliever, as he still has roughly $4.5M in salary owed to him over the remainder of the season. The Astros are covering $5.5M of Pressly’s $14M total 2025 salary, but the bottom line is that any interested new team can sign Pressly to a contract after he is released, and then just owe him a prorated Major League minimum salary while the Cubs or Astros cover the rest of the $4.5M.

When Chicago acquired Pressly from Houston in January, the thinking was that Pressly would be the favorite for save situations in the Cubs bullpen. Unfortunately, Pressly’s run as closer was run short by mid-May, with Daniel Palencia eventually emerging as the top choice in ninth-inning situations.

Pressly’s 15.4% strikeout rate was his lowest since 2014, as the K% continued its sharp decline from the righty’s 35.7% career best in 2022. His 9.3% walk rate was also Pressly’s worst since the 2015 season, and he was near the bottom of the league in hard-contact rate. The result was a 4.35 ERA over 41 1/3 innings, and while that ERA was inflated by some rough numbers after the All-Star break, the advanced metrics indicated that Pressly’s bottom-line numbers were due for regression.

As a 13-year veteran and two-time former All-Star, Pressly’s resume will get him plenty of looks once he presumably clears waivers and is released. A return to Houston wouldn’t be out of the question, with the idea that a return to his old stomping grounds could spark a bounce-back. Any number of other contenders might be willing to take a virtually no-cost flier on Pressly now that the deadline has passed and a few clubs are still in need of bullpen help.