Right-handed Dominican reliever Héctor Neris made his big league debut ten years ago with the Philadelphia Phillies. He signed with the Houston Astros in November 2021, becoming a clutch factor in why the Astros won it all during the 2022 season. In that 2022 season, Neris combined for a no-hitter in a 3-0 win over the New York Yankees. Although the Astros made it to the American League Championship Series last season, they were eliminated by their hometown rival the Texas Rangers, who went on to win it all. Neris became a free agent at season’s end. Today, it was announced that Héctor has just agreed to a one-year, $9 million deal with the Chicago Cubs.
Adam Frazier has a deal with Royals. One year deal.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) January 27, 2024
Cubs Sign Héctor Neris
Héctor Neris threw four pitches during the 2023 season. His main pitch he threw was his fastball which he threw 51 percent of the time. Four percent of the pitches he threw were a slider, a pitch he threw only 49 times. His most accurate pitch was his fastball which hit the strike zone about 54 percent of the time. Neris’ splitter only hit the strike zone 37 percent, as most of these pitches were either low to the strike zone or on the lower right side of the plate. Héctor’s splitter however was his most successful strikeout pitch, striking out batters nearly 36 percent of the time. The 2022 World Series champion reliever should get comfortable throwing his other two pitches to be successful in 2024.
Héctor Neris’ 2023 Stats
In 71 appearances on the mound, Héctor Neris put up a 6-3 record. Through 68 innings pitched he recorded a 1.71 ERA with 77 strikeouts. Three times during the 2023 season, the 2022 World Series champion reliever struck out the side. On October 11th in a 3-2 win over the Minnesota Twins during Game Two of the ALDS, Neris pitched one and one-third innings, not allowing a single hit to cross the board. He also had three strikeouts while he was out on the mound.
Photo Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
