Héctor Neris
Héctor Neris began his professional baseball career when he was signed as a free agent out of the Dominican Republic by the Phillies back in 2010. Neris eventually made his debut with Philadelphia in 2014, pitching a scoreless inning against the Houston Astros in August of that year.
The rest of his tenure with the Phillies spanned eight years from 2014 to 2021, as the right-handed pitcher became an integral part of their bullpen core. In 405 total relief appearances, Neris compiled a 21-29 record, 84 saves, along with a solid 3.42 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, 151 walks and a whopping 520 strikeouts in 407 2/3 innings pitched. He was so reliable that he even took over as their main closer for a couple of seasons and performed admirably in the role.
Despite the success, the Phillies still couldn’t manage to get to the next level, as they failed to reach the postseason throughout Neris’ tenure with Philadelphia. He ultimately left the Phillies during the 2021-22 offseason to sign with the team he made his MLB debut against the Astros.
Neris was rewarded with that move right away as he helped his new club capture the 2022 World Series title in just his first season away from Philadelphia. Not only that, but he followed it up with the best season of his career in 2023 when he amassed a 6-3 record with a stellar 1.71 ERA and 1.05 WHIP, giving up just 41 hits with 77 strikeouts in 68 1/3 innings of work over 71 appearances.
However, Neris’ numbers quickly fell back down to earth last year after splitting his time with the Chicago Cubs and Astros organizations for the 2024 season. Despite posting a respectable 10-5 record, he constantly had trouble with his command, leading to frequent runners on base. As a result, he amassed a bloated 4.10 ERA and 1.40 WHIP with 55 hits, 28 walks and 64 strikeouts in 59 1/3 innings pitched over 62 outings.
With plenty of solid relief options still available in the free agent market, Neris will likely need to wait a little longer before he can ultimately land a contract for the upcoming season. But at age 35, his opportunities could actually be starting to diminish if teams aren’t convinced that he could bounce back from a disappointing 2024 campaign.