There were plenty of Chicago Cubs fans who were skeptical of Ryan Pressly from the moment Jed Hoyer acquired the veteran reliever from the Houston Astros this offseason. Those fans have been proven right to this point. And yet, manager Craig Counsell continues to lean on the veteran option, perhaps because of the investment made to get him. Whatever the case, though, it's nearing past time for the Cubs to realize that they simply have better options than Pressly to turn to.
Pressly has been a disaster for the most part this season, accruing -0.8 WAR in just 14 appearances, which stands to reason when you're looking at a 7.62 ERA and a 1.92 WHIP. Of course, those numbers are draastically inflated after the San Francisco Giants tagged him for an absurd eight earned runs without the veteran recording an out. That raised his ERA from 2.08 coming into the outing to where it is now.
At the same time, Pressly hasn't been the model of consistency. His Cubs tenure started out quite dimsally, giving up three earned runs and 10 base-runners over his first three innings. He steadied himself a bit over the course of April, but only for that to get turned back on its head by the blow-up outing against San Francisco.
When it comes to the bullpen, consistency might be the most valued commodity among relievers. Pressly clearly isn't displaying that, which is more alarming when you see his obvious decline in recent years. What stands out, though, is that the Cubs don't have to be beholden to the veteran as their closer, or in the bullpen at all.
Cubs can't afford to be held hostage by Ryan Pressly any longer
The other option for the Cubs closer role coming into the season, Porter Hodge, hasn't exactly wrangled the job from Pressly with a 4.50 ERA and 1.38 WHIP in 17 appearances. Having said that, the 24-year-old has only allowed a run in three appearances this season (most notably getting shelled for six on April 18 against the D'Backs) and has only allowed five base runners, along with no runs, over his last seven outings.
While Hodge does display some inconsistency, at 24 years old, there should be a little more grace for that than with Pressly. The upside with the young right-hander should outweigh whatever it is that Counsell and the Cubs are banking on with their veteran offseason acquisition.
Even if the Cubs don't feel confident in Hodge, however, the options are still plentiful in Chicago to potentially usurp Pressly. Ryan Brasier, though currently on the 15-day IL, was nails for the Dodgers in recent years. Brooks Kriske and Michael Fulmer are in Triple-A for the organization with plenty of MLB experience, and pitching well of late. There's even someone like Drew Pomeranz who, admittedly unexpectedly, has been dominant in six scoreless appearances with the Cubs, posting a minuscule 0.35 WHIP.
All this is to say, if Pressly's volatility continues, the Cubs shouldn't and, frankly, can't afford to be hesitant to push him into a lower-leverage role and find a better option. They have them and the NL Central leaders can't shoot themselves in the foot for no viable reason beyond "we traded for this guy". The business is winning games and putting the best team out there to do so. If that's not Pressly, then get one of the other quality options out there in his place.