The Phillies and Pat Neshek have reportedly agreed to a two-year deal, $16.25 million deal for him to return to Philadelphia.
The Phillies have reportedly made their first significant move of the MLB Winter Meetings. Todd Zolecki of MLB.com was the first to report that the team will announce the signing of reliever Pat Neshek at some point later this week.
It was reported earlier in the day that the team was discussing Neshek as an option internally along with other free agents. Clearly, those discussions quickly evolved into pursuing him before eventually striking a deal.
According to Bob Nightengale of USA Today, the deal will be worth $16.25 million over the next two years:
Pat Neshek offficial contract with #Phillies: 2 years $16.25 million. $4 million signing bonus, $5.75 million in 2018, $5.75 million in 2019: $7 million or $750,000 buyout in 2020
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) December 11, 2017
Neshek’s contract would only be the second long-term one on the payroll besides Odubel Herrera. Nightengale’s numbers indicate that the team would still only have $8.75 million of base salary on their payroll along with Neshek’s and Herrera’s signing bonuses.
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Neshek was in Philadelphia the first half of the 2017 season after being traded from the Astros in a salary-dump deal.
Neshek then went on to be the team’s lone All-Star this year. In 43 appearances, Neshek had a 1.12 ERA, 0.818 WHIP, 1.94 fielding-independent pitching, and 9.00 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
He was traded to the Rockies July 26 in exchange for minor-leaguers Jose Gomez, J.D. Hammer, and Alejandro Requena.
After joining Colorado, Neshek made 28 more appearances with a 2.45 ERA, 1.70 FIP, 0.955 WHIP, and 24.00 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
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In the NL Wild Card Game, Neshek surrendered two runs on two hits and a walk to the Diamondbacks.
Philadelphia’s bullpen already looked pretty solid at the season’s end, even after they traded their best reliever in Neshek. Adding him back significantly improves the bullpen and adds a good amount of experience. He should be one of Hector Neris’s setup men along with Adam Morgan and Luis Garcia. The rest of the bullpen should include Yacksel Rios, Edubray Ramos, Victor Arano, or potentially a starter that couldn’t cut it in the rotation.
Next: Phillies expected to sell high on Cesar Hernandez
Minor News and Notes
In addition to the Neshek signing, a few other minor transactions occurred Monday. Cam Perkins and Engelb Vielma, who were both outrighted off the 40-man roster last week, were claimed by the Mariners and Pirates, respectively. In addition, former Phillie and spring training success story Brock Stassi signed a minor-league deal with the Twins.