It’s not quite as high-profile as the Yoshinobu Yamamoto sweepstakes, but both the Mets and Yankees are in on another pitcher this winter.
Hector Neris has received interest from both New York clubs, per SNY’s Andy Martino, which are looking to bolster their bullpens before the start of the 2024 campaign.
The 34-year-old right-hander is coming off a career year with the Houston Astros, posting a 1.71 ERA in 68.1 innings pitched with 77 strikeouts and a 1.054 WHIP. He’s just the latest pitcher whose talents were maximized in Houston after possessing a 3.46 career ERA across his first nine seasons in Major League Baseball.
As a late-innings option, Neris isn’t quite the prototypical reliever who possesses a flamethrowing right arm. His fastball averages 93 mph and he pairs it well with an 82 mph splitter that had a strikeout rate of 35.7% last season.
Neris’ game is predicated on producing soft contact, which he was able to do at an elite rate last season. The opposition’s average exit velocity of 86 mph against him was in MLB’s 91st percentile while a 28% hard-hit rate was in the 98th.
His services are perhaps more needed by a Mets bullpen that has done little to improve its ranks. Star closer Edwin Diaz will be back after knee surgery held him out for the entire 2023 season, but their only signing of note so far has been Jorge Lopez — a 2022 All-Star who struggled on three different teams last year.
Neris would be the unquestioned eighth-inning guy in Queens to provide the bridge to Diaz, while Brooks Raley, Drew Smith, and Lopez would play prominent roles in earlier innings.
The Yankees, though, have been deemed by Martino to be the “more likely fit,” as they have World Series aspirations in 2024. Neris won a title with the Astros in 2022 and has demonstrated an ability to pitch in any role within a bullpen.
The veteran righty is reportedly looking for a short-term deal that will pay him between $7 million and $11 million annually where one of the New York teams, at least for now, is expected to come away with his signature unlike Yamamoto, who opted to head west for the Los Angeles Dodgers.
