I hear all the noise about Pressly trade paving the way for Bregs returning, how Bregs return is a weird fit and pushes Paredes or Altuve to OF, how maybe Bregs coming back is a problem bc of Lux tax. I’m not sure how any of this matters if what was previously reported is true … the Astros original offer to Bregs is still on the table. That indicates to me that if Bregs wants to come back, he is coming back. The Astros probably felt somewhat confident they could move Pressly and get him to waive the NTC (maybe by adding some financial incentive the Astros have to pay for). So maybe that was baked into Astros keeping the offer on the table. But the bottom line is if Bregs wants to come back, he is back.
Nightengale: 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. 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. The Astros offered Bregman a six-year, $156 million contract in October trying to keep him, but he instead chose to hit the free-agent market, trying to see if a team was willing to meet his $200 million price tag. The Toronto Blue Jays, Boston Red Sox and Detroit Tigers all made offers, with at least two teams proposing deals of at least five years, but no one was willing to give him $200 million. The Astros, according to the two executives, reached out to Scott Boras, Bregman’s agent, on Wednesday to determine if Bregman still had interest in returning. Bregman informed the Astros he still had strong interest in coming back, but needed a resolution quickly since he already had teams willing to give him multi-year deals. Follow every MLB game: Latest MLB scores, stats, schedules and standings. The Astros opened serious talks with the Cubs on Thursday and were on the verge of reaching a tentative deal, two high-ranking executives told USA TODAY Sports, and then finalized an agreement on Friday that was contingent on Pressly waiving his no-trade clause. Pressly, who lives in the Dallas area with his young family was reluctant to waive it, but finally agreed when informed that he would be the Cubs’ full-time closer and only a late-inning reliever for the Astros. Pressly will receive an assignment bonus to cover the difference in taxes, a person with direct knowledge of the negotiations said, and will retain his no-trade clause. The intriguing aspect of Bregman’s likely return, after spending his first nine years with the organization, is that All-Star second baseman Jose Altuve will now move to left field, two officials said, with Isaac Paredes moving from third base to second base, where he has played 53 games. Bregman is a two-time All-Star who won the Gold Glove last season. I love watching Bregman play third base, so I can’t imagine putting Bregman or having [manager] Joe [Espada] put Bregman in any other position other than third base,’’ Astros GM Dana Brown said Saturday at the Astros Fanfest. “That’s his home. He puts on clinics when he’s playing third base, and he’s just as special as anybody, Gold Glove there and so I can’t picture him playing anywhere else.” The potential return of Bregman appeared highly unlikely a month ago when the Astros, who grew tired of waiting for Bregman’s decision, traded for Cubs third baseman Isaac Paredes and signed first baseman Christian Walker to a three-year, $60 million contract extension. The Astros assumed he’d sign a free-agent contract with another team, but on Wednesday, decided to re-ignite negotiations. Altuve, who also assumed that Bregman was gone, informed the Astros that he’d be willing to leave second base after 14 years and move to left field only if it meant brining back Bregman. “For Alex, I’ll do whatever,” Altuve, 34, said Saturday. “He’s one of the best players in the whole league and he’s definitely one of the best players on the team. We want him to stay so whatever I have to do for him to stay, I’m willing to do it.” Altuve also understands that if the Astros are going to keep their streak of eight consecutive postseason appearances intact, which included four pennants and two World Series titles, they need Bregman back. “I’d be willing to do everything if he stays,’’ Altuve said, “I want to win. He’s a guy who’s going to make this team better. We have a better chance to win a championship with him. ... “It’s not up to me, but if it was up to me, I’d pay him whatever and bring him back. I just want him to be back.’’
Altuve’s defensive metrics have come down from his peak, but they’re not any worse on balance than how he was early in his career. I always assumed the plan for Altuve was to just keep him at 2B for the rest of his career while just trying to give him more days off and more DH time, while potentially subbing in for him late in games where they have a lead. I still think it makes way more sense to either trade Paredes for a good OF or move Paredes to LF, but if the front office really does think Altuve will not be viable at 2B the last 2-3 years of his career/contract, then it starts to make a little more sense to see if he can transition over to be more hidden in LF (since they know Yordan can’t play the field).
Dang that’s not much salary relief. Pressly was worth $12M/1yr; his contract was not really underwater by much. Bello better be a good prospect and whatever they do with that $8M better be good.
This confirms it. There's no way Crane agrees to trade Pressly to save only $8.5 mil if they aren't going to use that for something big. Here we go
There’s an off chance that Pressly was just disgruntled. Rumors were he asked for a trade last season. So it could be as simple as getting rid of a guy who was unhappy and getting back a prospect they liked. I don’t think that’s the case but it is possible.
Possible, but Pressly had a short list apparently and wanted to stay close to Dallas. He even mulled over Chicago for a bit. I don't think there was any scenario where Pressly was willingly wanting to leave this year unless perhaps it was to the Rangers. But who knows
Until proven differently, I will be excited about every pitcher the Astros actively choose to bring in.
So the team we now know has offered Alex Bregman 4 years, 100 million is going to have a change of heart after two months and increase their offer by at least two years and 56 million? Anything is possible, but I doubt it.
