Cubs release reliever Héctor Neris, avoid $9M vesting option for 2025

The Chicago Cubs have moved on from reliever Héctor Neris, according to ESPN’s Jesse Rogers. The 35-year-old was designated for assignment and has already cleared waivers, making him an unrestricted free agent with a little over a month left in the regular season.

Neris signed a one-year, $9 million deal with the Cubs in the offseason and appeared in 46 games, recording 17 saves, 3 holds and 5 blown saves with 46 strikeouts in 44 innings.

Neris will be replaced on the Cubs’ roster by right-hander Jack Neely, who was acquired from the New York Yankees last month in a trade that sent Mark Leiter Jr. the other way.

The Cubs are currently 61-64 in the NL Central and sit 5 1/2 games out of a wild card spot and 11 1/2 games behind the division-leading Milwaukee Brewers.

What makes this move all the more interesting for the Cubs is how it will affect their spending for next season. Neris had a vesting player option for $9 million for 2025 that would have been activated had he appeared in 60 games or finished 45 games with this season.

Neris leaves Chicago having played in 46 games and only finishing 33 of them. The Cubs have 37 games to play in 2024, so it’s not out of the realm of possibility that he would have reached the needed appearances to trigger the vesting option for next season if he remained on the roster.

Neris spent the last two seasons with the Houston Astros and was excellent in a setup role recording 56 holds between 2022 and 2023 with a 1.03 WHIP and 156 strikeouts in 133 1/3 innings.