Ryan Pressly May Have Already Lost His Job as Closer
In order for the Cubs to acquire Ryan Pressly back in January, he first had to waive his no-trade clause. The right-hander lost the closer’s job when the Astros signed Josh Hader prior to the 2024 season, shifting him into a setup role. He wasn’t very effective, posting a 3.97 ERA in 56.2 innings, but there was a thought that getting save opportunities with a new team might reinvigorate his career. That’s why the Cubs made the relatively low-risk move to pick him up in exchange for A-ball righty Juan Bello while getting the Astros to pay down more than a third of Pressly’s $14 million salary.
Pressly has only pitched 14 innings in 15 for the Cubs, but he may have already lost his job as their closer. As of the start of May, he had a 2.08 ERA and had thrown 10 consecutive innings of scoreless baseball that included not allowing an earned run in April. However, the warning signs were there in abundance. His 4.96 FIP indicated the ERA was a mirage, and he had walked seven batters with just five strikeouts.
Racking up huge strikeout numbers isn’t a requirement for closers, but it sure does help. Pressly had a disastrous combination of being in the first percentile among big league relievers in both strikeout rate (9.0%) and hard-hit rate (54.9%), making him a ticking time bomb. The clock ran out on May 6 against the Giants.
His outing came after Kyle Tucker capped off an impressive comeback that saw the Cubs rally to tie the game in the bottom of the 9th. Porter Hodge pitched a scoreless 10th with just one walk, putting the Cubs at an 80.7% win probability in the bottom of the frame. Their inability to plate the Manfred Man evened the odds, but Pressly’s performance quickly turned things around.
He allowed eight straight hitters to reach and failed to record an out, leaving with eight earned runs allowed on five hits, a walk, and a hit batter. It’s one thing to pitch to contact and get hitters to beat themselves, but Pressly is getting very few strikeouts while giving up far too much hard contact. The Cubs believe they’ve identified an issue with his mechanics that may be the result of compensating for an injured knee that had to be drained in late April, but they aren’t going to let him work that out in high-leverage situations.
Jed Hoyer has been extremely aggressive this season when it comes to roster moves, showing that the leash for failure is shorter than it has been in past seasons. While Pressly won’t be cut from the team, his job as the closer is likely already gone. Porter Hodge entered the season as the closer-in-waiting, although the transition may have come sooner than most expected. Hodge has been the anti-Pressly this season, particularly with his 100th-percentile hard contact rate (18.5%). and 96th-percentile average exit velocity (85 mph).
Porter Hodge, Wicked Sweepers, 🤢 pic.twitter.com/2jPFkx7XNn
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) April 14, 2025
Though he isn’t a elite strikeout pitcher, Hodge is able to find success by avoiding walks and forcing hitters to put the ball in play weakly. That helps him to make up for any mistakes he might make by inducing double plays and harmless contact. More than than any statistics, there’s something to be said for having a reliever the rest of the team can trust in tight situations.
Craig Counsell called on Pressly Friday night in New York, asking the veteran to work the 6th inning with the Cubs losing 6-1. He allowed Francisco Lindor and Juan Soto to reach base via a single and a walk, but escaped the inning without allowing any further damage. He even struck out Pete Alonso with a four-seamer at the knees. While Pressly could make his way back into the closer’s role later this summer, it seems the Cubs aren’t taking any more chances for the time being.
