The Houston Astros recently agreed to a blockbuster trade that would send closer Ryan Pressly to the Chicago Cubs. This trade joins a long list of moves made by the Astros this winter.
Unfortunately for Houston, none of the moves it has made has been re-signing infielder Alex Bregman. The veteran third baseman remains a free agent.
Bob Nightengale of USA Today recently suggested the Pressly trade is going to have a lasting impact on the Astros’ offseason. Nightengale suggested trading Pressly was step one to re-signing Bregman.
“The Houston Astros have reached a tentative agreement to trade reliever Ryan Pressly to the Chicago Cubs on Sunday after Pressly officially waived his no-trade clause, clearing the way for free-agent third baseman Alex Bregman to return to the Astros,” Nightengale wrote. “The Astros needed to clear payroll by trading Pressly, two high-ranking executives told USA TODAY Sports if they were going to bring Bregman back.
“Pressly is scheduled to earn $14 million in 2025 in the final year of his contract, and the Cubs are expected to pay the bulk of the contract by of sending only a fringe prospect to Houston, which will be used to sign back Bregman.”
As Nightengale notes, clearing the $14 million due to Pressly frees up more money for Houston to increase its offer for Bregman.
Second baseman Jose Altuve recently suggested he would be willing to change positions for the Astros to bring Bregman back.
Now that they’ve cleared Pressly off their payroll, the Astros bringing back Bregman is a realistic possibility.
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