The Chicago Cubs have decided to let go of reliever Hector Neris. The National League Central division club reportedly parted ways with the World Series champion, according to Jessee Rogers of ESPN.
“Chicago Cubs news: Reliever Hector Neris was DFA'd and has already cleared waivers, sources tell ESPN,” wrote Rogers via X (the social media platform formerly known as Twitter).
“He's being released. Jack Neely, acquired from the Yankees in the Mark Leiter Jr trade, is being called up to take his place.”
With Neris clearing waivers, he can be signed by any team as an unrestricted free agent. The 35-year-old right-handed pitcher, who won a World Series in 2022 with the Houston Astros, had an inconsistent time on the mound during his tenure in Cubs uniform. He posted a 4.50 ERA through nine appearances in May.
The following month, he bounced back strongly, as he recorded a 2.70 ERA through 19 appearances in May. His form dropped again in June where he had a 6.52 ERA across 10 games. That wild month-to-month swings continued for him in July (1.13 ERA) and August (5.68 ERA) before the Cubs finally split with Neris, who also had five blown saves out of 25 save chances, so far in the 2024 MLB regular season.
Neris concluded his Cubs stint with an 8-4 record, 3.89 ERA, 1.523 WHIP, 4.09 FIP, and a 107 OPS+ across 44.0 innings.
Apart from his seemingly erratic performance, Neris' exit from the Cubs could also be because of Chicago's desire to save money. Neris, who signed a one-year deal worth $9 million with the Cubs last January after declining an option to return to the Astros for $8.5 million, would have earned a vesting player option worth $9 million in 2025 had he appeared in 60 games or finished at least 45 games with the Cubs this season.
Before his release from Chicago, Neris had appeared in 46 games with the Cubs but only finished 33 of those contests.
Cubs' chances to make 2024 MLB playoffs
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The Cubs are still hoping that they can turn things around this season and make a run for a slot in the 2024 MLB postseason. Chicago has lost four of its last six games and those defeats have certainly hurt the team's playoff chances. That being said, the Cubs are 5.5 games out of the last wild card spot in the National League. That's a much more realistic target for Chicago than winning its division where the Cubs are 11.5 games out of first place.
With a 61-64 record as of this writing, the Cubs are given a 3.5 percent chance to make the playoffs by FanGraphs and 3.1 percent odds to secure a wild-card ticket to the postseason.
