The Chicago Cubs needed to find help for the bullpen.
Getting a relief pitcher with a consistent history was especially important — and something they finally dealt with on Saturday.
The Cubs and veteran relief pitcher Héctor Neris have agreed to a one-year, $9 million contract with a $9 million team option for 2025, a source informed the Tribune. Neris’ team option becomes a player option if he appears in 60 games, a mark he has reached in each of the last three years and six of eight seasons excluding the shortened 2020 season. His contract can potentially reach $23.25 million with incentives.
Adding Neris fulfills important needs in the bullpen. He brings durability, having pitched in at least 70 games five times, and provides the Cubs with an established reliever for the back end of the bullpen who has experience in crucial games. The Cubs bullpen struggled towards the end of the season, leading to them missing the 2023 postseason as an inexperienced group tired out and dealt with injuries in September.
Neris, 34, has a career 3.24 ERA over 546 major league appearances after two seasons in Houston, including a World Series title in 2022. He also spent eight years with the Philadelphia Phillies. Mainly used in the seventh and eighth innings with the Astros, Neris also has experience as a closer, earning five saves in Houston and 84 with the Phillies.
Neris provides the Cubs with another splitting pitch in the bullpen to join right-hander Mark Leiter Jr., whose pitch has been effective against left-handed batters. Neris uses his splitter against both right-handed and left-handed batters, a pitch that produced a 42.2 Whiff% and .237 slugging percentage in 2023.
Although he typically relies on a four-seam fastball and splitter combination when facing left-handed batters, Neris also uses a sinker and slider when dealing with right-handed batters. His average fastball velocity decreased by 1.3 mph from 2022 to 2023, but this contract shows that the Cubs are not overly worried about that.
The Cubs’ efforts to build a more experienced bullpen should not end with the acquisition of Neris. They still require more depth and ideally another reliever with postseason experience.
And with Cody Bellinger is among the notable position players still available in free agency, and the Cubs have the ability to make significant improvements to the roster in the coming weeks.
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