Former Phillies closer signs with painfully familiar World Series foe

It sure didn’t take long for former Philadelphia Phillies closer Héctor Neris to find a new home after his release from the Chicago Cubs earlier this week. In fact, Neris has managed to catch on with a painfully familiar playoff foe of the Phillies in the pesky Houston Astros.

By signing with the current AL West-leading Astros, as first reported by Ari Alexander of KPRC2 Houston, Neris is returning to the place in which he has been the most productive and had the most success so far in his career.

Former Phillies closer Héctor Neris signs with painfully familiar World Series foe

Not only did Neris put together his best season ever with Houston just last year, but he's now back with the same team with which he captured his one and only World Series title in his 11-year career.

Moreover, it just so happens that he accomplished it against the Phillies in 2022 — the right-hander threw three scoreless outings in that World Series against the Phillies.

Now back with Houston, Neris will carry his 2.69 ERA and 1.03 WHIP with 156 strikeouts in 133 2/3 innings over two seasons in an Astros uniform and will hope to replicate some of those numbers in his second go-around with the team. More importantly, he now has another shot at a World Series championship with the same team he did it with before.

This year, Neris had endured some on-and-off struggles with the Cubs, as it appeared that he never got totally comfortable with his new club. Nevertheless, he still posted a respectable 8-4 record with 17 saves, along with a 3.89 ERA with 46 strikeouts in 44 innings pitched. However, he did run into some trouble with his command, leading to his uncharacteristically high number of walks with 26 and a gaudy 1.52 WHIP as a result.

Neris spent parts of eight seasons with the Phillies from 2014 to 2021, posting a 3.42 ERA and 1.19 WHIP with 520 strikeouts in 407 2/3 innings. He recorded 84 saves in red pinstripes, with a career-high 28 in 2019.

As for the Phillies, they certainly had all the opportunity to bring Neris back to provide some much-needed bullpen help but chose otherwise. Hopefully, that decision won't come back to bite them if the Phillies do eventually meet the Astros again this year in the World Series.