Mariners Moose Tracks, 1/27/25: Ryan Pressly, Pete Alonso, and Cristian Javier

Just what are you planning, Astros?

Good morning everyone and happy Monday! It was a fairly quiet Sunday around the league, with one big piece of news from inside the division to report. Let’s get to that and what else you may have missed from the weekend.

In Mariners news...

• Not a whiff of news from the M’s yesterday, unfortunately.

Around the league...

• The Astros shed some salary by sending longtime closer Ryan Pressly to the Cubs in exchange for Single-A right-hander Juan Bello.
• The Pressly trade coincides with a quote from Houston GM Dana Brown on Saturday where he said the door is “cracked open” regarding a return for free agent third baseman Alex Bregman — the team has seemingly just cleared payroll space to do that with the Pressly deal.
• Houston right-hander Cristian Javier is eyeing a second-half return from Tommy John surgery.
• Mets owner Steve Cohen said the Pete Alonso negotiations have been “exhausting,” which is surely something that will land well with Alonso’s camp.
• The MLB.com staff outlined seven teams that they think will be meaningfully better in 2025.
• David Adler sets the stage for next winter’s sweepstakes for Japanese slugger Munetaka Murakami.

Anders’ picks...

• This really makes you realize how little they actually look like hedgehogs.