Chicago Cubs: Ryan Pressly’s role as closer may not be as secure as previously expected

The Chicago Cubs and Houston Astros have made two significant trades this off-season, with outfielder Kyle Tucker and reliever Ryan Pressly both heading to the Windy City.  Pressly had been a rumored trade candidate for quite some time as he previously lost the closer role to Josh Hader and has just one year left on his contract.U

Upon waiving his full no-trade clause, it was expected that he would automatically slide into the Cubs 9th inning duties.  However, this is not exactly the case and that was information Pressly knew prior to allowing a trade to occur.

The Chicago Cubs informed Ryan Pressly he would close some games

According to Meghan Montemurro, Cubs beat reporter at the Chicago Tribune, Pressly was informed that he will close some games.  His mindset heading into camp is that he will be competing for the ninth inning job, but his confidence is still there as he said, “I still feel like I can close and I want to still prove that I can close. An opportunity came up to where I could have that chance again. So I figured I could go capitalize on that opportunity and see what happens.”

Porter Hodge and Ryan Pressly will compete for the closer role

Pressly specifically mentioned Porter Hodge as someone who did well as a closer last year.  Hodge, a 23 year old rookie a season ago, converted nine of 12 save opportunities in 2024, recorded nine holds, and had a 1.88 ERA across 43.0 innings pitched.  Regardless of who wins the closer role, it’s clear heading into spring training that these two are the top two options.

Ryan Pressly was told he will close some games for the Cubs, adding that he’s going into camp competing for that 9th inning role. He noted how well Porter Hodge filled the closer role last year and believes they’re going to be “pretty dynamic duo” in the backend of the bullpen.

— Meghan Montemurro (@M_Montemurro) January 29, 2025

It will be interesting to see how the competition for the closer role pans out.  Making a determination in spring training may be difficult, so it’s possible that Craig Counsell utilizes a combination of each until a clear favorite emerges.  Counsell has experience managing multiple bullpen arms capable of ninth inning duties, in which the most extreme case of this came in 2018 when he had Jeremy Jeffress, Corey Knebel, and Josh Hader all as options.

Related: 

• Ryan Pressly calls pitching a Wrigley Field “always a dream of mine”
• Grading the Cubs-Astros trade involving Ryan Pressly