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Phillies: What happened to Hector Neris between 2017 and 2018?

By John Town

PHILADELPHIA, PA - APRIL 05: Hector Neris #50 of the Philadelphia Phillies delivers a pitch in the ninth inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Citizens Bank Park on April 25, 2018 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Phillies own 5-3. (Photo by Drew Hallowell/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA - APRIL 05: Hector Neris #50 of the Philadelphia Phillies delivers a pitch in the ninth inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Citizens Bank Park on April 25, 2018 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Phillies own 5-3. (Photo by Drew Hallowell/Getty Images) /
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After struggling all year long, the Phillies demoted Hector Neris to Triple-A Monday. What happened to him between last season and this one?

If someone told me that Hector Neris would be optioned to Triple-A in mid-June this season, I would be quite surprised. He was arguably the Phillies‘ best reliever for two-plus seasons and emerged as the closer last season. Neris was supposed to be one of many strong relievers in the team’s bullpen this year.

Instead, Neris was optioned to Triple-A Monday and replaced by 25-year-old Austin Davis. Manager Gabe Kapler did not say how long the demotion would last, stating that the team wants Neris to “clear his head” in Lehigh Valley.

After several blown saves, Kapler relegated Neris to mop-up duty. He picked up his 10th save Saturday with a three-run lead, but then nearly blew a five-run lead Sunday after giving up two home runs. That outing was the final straw for the team, leading to the demotion.

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How did we get to this point? After multiple strong seasons in the majors, Neris’s performance this year has been a major disappointment. He went from the closer to the minor-leagues in just over a month.

Between 2015 and 2017, Neris pitched in 185 games, logging 195.1 innings. In this span, he had a 2.99 ERA, 3.75 fielding-independent pitching, 1.183 WHIP, and 229 strikeouts.

Former manager Pete Mackanin leaned on Neris as his go-to setup man in 2016, then promoted him to the closer role after Jeanmar Gomez fell off. Neris recorded 28 holds and two saves in 2016, then saved 26 games in 29 opportunities last year.

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The key to Neris’s success early in his career was his splitter. He has thrown it more than half the time in each of the last three seasons. Only Masahiro Tanaka had a more valuable splitter than Neris between 2016 and 2017. Neris was able to control it, using it to both avoid hard contact and record strikeouts.

The problem this year has been that Neris’s splitter simply hasn’t been as good this year. Its velocity is down a tick, but the real difference has been with its movement. Compared to last season, it is breaking two fewer inches to his arm side. As the season has progressed, Neris is getting less and less movement from his splitter.

Without an effective third pitch, hitters are lining up Neris far easier.

The main difference between this year and last has been the long ball. Neris had been fairly good at keeping the ball in the park, but that has not been the case at all this year. He has allowed eight home runs in 27 innings with one of every four fly balls leaving the stadium. In turn, his ERA and FIP have jumped from 3.01 and 3.71 last year to 6.00 and 5.57 this year, respectively.

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The keys to Neris bouncing back will be his splitter returning to form and him keeping the ball in the park. The team will surely be keeping a close eye on those things while he is in Lehigh Valley as they determine his future with the team this season and beyond.

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