The saga between Ryan Pressly and the Astros could be reaching a breaking point.
Houston asked its star reliever — and former closer — if he’d waive a full no-trade clause to approve a deal that’d send him to the Cubs, The Post’s Jon Heyman reported Friday, adding another twist to what has become an ugly dilemma just weeks before pitchers and catchers report to spring training.
The Cubs and Blue Jays were two of the three teams interested in Pressly, according to Heyman, but he doesn’t want to leave Houston — the full-time home for his family — for a destination further east or west and possesses the necessary no-trade clause to leverage those desires.
Still, Pressly “may find the Cubs and a return to closing enticing,” Heyman added Friday.
Reports that the Astros wanted to trade Pressly first started trickling out following their wild-card exit and a season where Houston handed the closing job to Josh Hader — their five-year, $95 million signing the previous offseason — and left Pressly to settle into a new role as their setup man.
The eighth inning became Pressly’s spot across most of 59 appearances during the regular season.
He still collected a 3.49 ERA, but it marked a significantly different role from the one that allowed Pressly to collect at least 26 saves in each of the three seasons prior to 2024 — and he imploded during his lone postseason appearance, blowing a save while allowing three runs on two hits across ⅔ of an inning in a Game 2 loss.
When Pressly entered to pitch the eighth inning, the Astros had just scored two runs in the bottom of the seventh to snag a one-run lead with their season on the line.
But two innings later, after Pressly struggled by allowing the three baserunners and throwing a brutal wild pitch that allowed a run to score, their season was over.
Pressly made his debut with the Twins in 2013 and spent the first six-plus years of his MLB career in Minnesota before the Astros acquired him ahead of the trade deadline in 2018.
He earned his first All-Star Game nod the following season before eventually becoming Houston’s closer in 2020.
Hector Neris led the Cubs with 17 saves last season, but he was released in August and joined Houston’s bullpen just days later, too.
