Pressly retires with a 3.33 ERA, 25.2% strikeout rate, 48.5% grounder rate and 7.2% walk rate over 691 1/3 career innings with the Twins, Astros and Cubs. Since the start of the 2013 season, only six pitchers have appeared in more games than Pressly, who made 667 trips from the bullpen to the mound.
Never a pitcher with great velocity, Pressly managed that thanks to an excellent slider-curveball combination and a ton of spin on both his curve and fastball. From 2017-25, Pressly ranked no less than the 99th percentile among all pitchers in curveball spin, and no less than the 95th percentile in fastball spin rate. These fantastic spin rates helped Pressly miss a lot of bats and convert a lot of hard contact into easy outs on the ground.
Originally an 11th-round pick for the Red Sox in the 2007 draft, Pressly never pitched for Boston at the MLB level as the Twins plucked him out of Boston’s farm system in the 2012 Rule 5 Draft. Pressly had never pitched at the Triple-A level before making his big league debut with Minnesota in 2013, but he started with a 3.87 ERA over 49 games and 76 2/3 frames, immediately establishing himself as a multi-inning bullpen workhorse.
Injuries and a few stints in the minors interrupted Pressly’s time with the Twins, but his solid work earned him more high-leverage opportunities. By the time Minnesota dealt Pressly to Houston at the 2018 trade deadline, the right-hander was serving as the Twins’ go-to guy, and he continued that role in the Astros’ relief corps. Pressly was outstanding down the stretch for the Astros in 2018, and his excellent work as a setup man in 2019 earned Pressly his first All-Star nomination.
This led to another promotion to the closer’s job in 2020, kicking off a four-year stretch in which Pressly recorded 102 saves in 118 opportunities while recording a 2.99 ERA, 31.5% strikeout rate and 6.2% walk rate. Despite this high-profile role in a regular-season playoff, Pressly’s success flew somewhat under the radar — perhaps because he never got many free agent headlines since the Astros (wisely) kept extending him.
Pressly signed a two-year, $17.5 million deal prior to the 2019 season, which became a three-year, $27.5 million deal after making enough appearances to activate a third-year vesting option. In April 2022, Pressly signed another extension that ultimately paid him $42 million over three years (2023-25) once he reached a vesting threshold again. While it’s possible that Pressly might have made a little more money had he tested the open market, he was very happy to be playing close to home (Pressly is from Dallas and his wife is from Houston) and playing for a frequent contender.
The Astros’ regular trips to the postseason gave Pressly a chance to shine on baseball’s biggest stages, and he posted a 2.78 ERA over 45 1/3 career playoff innings, including a streak of 22 2/3 innings without allowing an earned run. Pressly’s run in Houston was highlighted by the team’s 2022 World Series title, and he pitched the final inning of the Astros’ combined no-hitter in Game 4, and he picked up the save in both Game 5 and the decisive Game 6.
Despite Pressly’s continued success at closer, the Astros opted to double their relief depth by acquiring Josh Hader during the 2023–2024 offseason, which resulted in Pressly’s return to a regular role. While he continued to pitch well, his $14 million price tag became a bit too much for an Astros team trying to limit its luxury tax bill, and Pressly agreed to waive his non-trade protection to approve a deal with the Cubs last winter. Unfortunately for Pressly, he struggled in what would ultimately be his final MLB season, and Chicago released the reliever in August.
Somewhat surprisingly, Pressly went nowhere after its release, and both the Twins and Astros were reportedly considering reunions. Retirement was apparently an option for Pressly even over the summer, and after thinking about the decision for some time, he has decided to step away from the game at the age of 37.
We at MLB Trade Rumors congratulate Pressly on an outstanding career, and we wish him the best in his post-playing endeavors.
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