The Astros have had internal conversations about the possibility of trading Ryan Pressly , reports Chandler Rome of the Athletic . While that’d be a logical way to clear payroll space, a deal is complicated by the reliever’s full no-trade rights. Pressly has a decade of MLB service and has spent five-plus seasons in Houston.
Players who meet that criteria have full no-trade protection under the collective bargaining agreement. Pressly could quickly halt trade consideration if he has no desire to leave. (Rome notes that the pitcher’s wife, Kat, is a Houston native.
) If Pressly is amenable to moving, that would go a long way to opening spending room for the team. The Astros are trying to re-sign Alex Bregman . They could look for help at first base and in the outfield.
RosterResource already projects next season’s luxury tax number around $234M. That’s $7M shy of the lowest threshold. They’d need to go well into tax territory to retain Bregman.
Even if they let the star third baseman walk, they’re likely to push above the tax line for what’d be a second straight year. They’d be subject to higher penalties for exceeding the threshold in back-to-back seasons. General manager Dana Brown admitted last month that the situation could require the Astros to be “creative” with their payroll.
The most straightforward solution — subject to the no-trade complications — is a Pressly deal. The righty triggered a $14M vesting option for his age-36 season. That’s a .
