Multiple World Series hopefuls looking at reliable reliever

Free-agent reliever Hector Neris is seeking a two-year contract in the $22M range, reports Jon Heyman of the New York Post. The veteran righty is among the more accomplished bullpen arms still on the open market.

It seems Neris’ free agency could resolve in the near future. MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand reported over the weekend that the Rangers and Yankees had emerged as front-runners. Heyman notes the incumbent Astros also remain in the mix. Houston GM Dana Brown hinted as much earlier this week after the Astros lost Kendall Graveman for the season to shoulder surgery.

Of course, Houston seems to have their sights set higher at the moment. They’re making a run at Josh Hader, free agency’s top reliever. That came as a surprise with the club’s payroll projection sitting just under the base luxury tax threshold. It seems as if a Hader signing would close the book on Neris’ time in Houston, but there’s nothing to suggest the Astros are on the verge of a deal with the star lefty.

Hader has sought a nine-figure pact that’d top Edwin Diaz’s record $102M guarantee for a bullpen arm. Neris was never going to come anywhere close to that. Yet his reported ask of an $11M annual salary would pay him as a high-end setup arm, as shown on MLBTR’s Contract Tracker.

Jordan Hicks landed $44M over four seasons with the Giants, while Reynaldo Lopez picked up $30M over three years with the Braves. Both pitchers throw harder than Neris and are expected to compete for rotation spots with their new teams.

That won’t be on the table for Neris, who has come out of the bullpen for all 546 MLB appearances. Still, he doesn’t need to look back further than last offseason to find examples of pure relievers landing this kind of salary. The Giants signed Taylor Rogers to a three-year, $33M guarantee. Houston themselves went to $34.5MM over three years ($11.5M annually) to retain Rafael Montero.

Neris is older than everyone in that group, which is why his camp is only looking for two years. He has an argument to fit alongside Rogers and Montero on an annual basis though. Neris has been excellent over two seasons with the Astros. He turned in a 3.72 ERA through 65 1/3 frames in year one, striking out 30% of batters faced.

He had more success keeping runs off the board a season ago, posting a sparkling 1.71 mark across 68 1/3 innings. Neris’ strikeout rate dipped slightly to 28.2% and his walks jumped to an alarming 11.4% clip, but his run prevention was fantastic. He has gotten swinging strikes on more than 14% of his offerings in each of the past two years.

That made it an easy call for him to decline an $8.5M player option. MLBTR predicted a two-year, $15M deal at the start of the offseason, but his camp is looking above that.