My first reaction to the signing of Josh Haber by the Houston Astros was to wonder how Ryan Pressly might feel about this situation.
We now know his reaction, as Astros staff contacted the team's number one reliever before concluding talks with Hader.
I say number one, because before Hader officially becomes a member of the Astros, he still has some medical tests to pass.
Pressly was rightly considered the team's best reliever and has been since 2021. Hader's deal is for five years and will be worth a whopping $95 million.
Ryan Pressly has done a lot for this concession and the fact of seeing another reliever with the same ambitions as him arrive could have a very negative effect for the future.
According to Joe Espada and Dana Brown, manager and general manager of the Astros respectively, the discussion with Pressly resulted in a clear signal that Hader needed to be brought to Houston.
Both men were stunned to see their reliever's reaction to this surprising news. Why add a reliever who closes the books when someone is doing it very well right now?
Casually, the Astros have just put together the best bullpen staff in the majors. In Hader, Pressly and Bryan Abreu, they now have a trio of dominant pitchers who can get the job done against the most dangerous hitters.
Espada and Brown did the right thing by reaching out to Pressly about his feelings about the talks with Hader, but I give the reliever full credit because his reaction speaks volumes about his personality and his desire to see his team succeed.
It is now the turn of Espada, a manager who will be in his first years in charge of a team, to ensure that everything goes well and in harmony.
Obviously, the three pitchers will not be able to get on the mound every day and that is the luxury of being able to count on a combination of this quality.
By saying yes I want it to the arrival of Josh Hader as the new sheriff in town, Ryan Pressly demonstrated that there are still professional athletes who think of collective success before the ambition of receiving their individual bonuses linked to statistics.
The Astros should emerge from this experience stronger, because Pressly demonstrated incredible leadership in allowing Dana Brown to act and making this unexpected union possible. Let us now hope that his teammates will appreciate his greatness of soul at its true value.
Since then, Pressly has declined interviews with the media, but it is normal that he will have to digest the news for a few more days before opening up publicly about it.
Ryan Pressly demonstrated that in addition to being a high-quality reliever, he was a high-class human being.
