The Chicago Cubs have made a big move to bolster the back end of their bullpen. They acquired veteran reliever Ryan Pressly from the Houston Astros on Sunday, sources confirmed to the Tribune. Pressly waived his no-trade clause to accept a move to Chicago. The 36-year-old right-hander was predominately used as Houston’s closer from 2020-23, winning a World Series ring in 2022, but he shifted to a setup role last season after the Astros added lefty Josh Hader. Pressly wasn’t as dominant among some underlying numbers, seeing his WHIP, walk rate and hits allowed increase while experiencing a decrease in strikeouts and a nearly 5% decline in whiff rate. He finished last year with a 3.49 ERA and 114 ERA+ in 59 appearances. Pressly has shown to be a reliable workhorse over his career, notching nine seasons of at least 50 games pitched since 2016, the only time falling short of that mark in the abbreviated 2020 campaign. The 12-year veteran and two-time All-Star played the first 5½ seasons of his career for the Minnesota Twins. Despite a few concerning trends, the Cubs get a much-needed veteran with closer experience to add to a relief group that otherwise has a limited track record. This will allow the Cubs to still use an electric arm like Porter Hodge, who had nine saves during his 2024 rookie year, in high-leverage spots while not putting pressure on less experienced options. Ideally, the Cubs will find a way to bring in another veteran reliever to improve the upside of the group while building to the depth and give manager Craig Counsell more choices in how he wants to deploy their relievers in key, late-inning spots. It’s the second big trade between the teams this offseason. On Dec. 13, the Cubs acquired three-time All-Star outfielder Kyle Tucker from the Astros for third baseman Isaac Paredes, right-hander Hayden Wesneski and their 2024 first-round pick, third baseman Cam Smith. Cubs pitchers and catchers report to spring training on Feb. 9 in Mesa, Ariz., with the first full-squad workout five days later. They open their season against the world champion Los Angeles Dodgers in a two-game series March 18-19 at the Tokyo Dome in Japan.