Post-season baseball is just around the corner, and with that comes any final constructions of a team's roster and, in the Chicago Cubs case, a roster that can put them ahead of the five-hundred mark and into a playoff position. In a somewhat shocking but necessary move, the Cubs have DFA'd veteran reliever Hector Neris and have called up prospect Jack Neely to take his place in the bullpen.
Neris came over during the free agency period during the offseason and took over the closer role for the Cubs after Adbert Alzolay's struggles/injury. After appearing in 46 games, Nerris posted an 8-4 record (yes, as a late-inning reliever) with a 3.89 ERA and 17 saves (5 blown saves). Just taking a gander at those stats, one could argue that those aren't the worst in the world, but you don't want that high of an ERA from your closer. However, it started to get ugly for Neris in his last nine appearances. Over that period, the veteran right-hander posted a 4.82 ERA and a 1.500 WHIP in 9.1 innings; even in a smaller sample size in Neris's last four games, he posted a 6.75 ERA.
The story around Neris all season long is that he would get into jams during a save opportunity and barely get out of it, or the opposing team would tie the game, and the Cubs would walk it off in later innings (explains Neris's W-L record). In the Cubs' current situation of 61-64, 11.5 games back of the NL Central title (pretty much impossible to catch up to Milwaukee), and 5.5 games back out of a wild-card position (very possible to catch up here), the Cubs need to solidify the ninth innings with either one specific guy, or a rotation of high-leverage relievers. So, who takes the ninth inning? I like Porter Hodge. Yes, a younger arm, but he carries a high-octane fastball and sweeper with a 47.8% WHIFF rate. This would also be a good opportunity for the Cubs to develop their closer of the future. However, it may seem that Jorge Lopez could take over that role, as he holds a 0.83 ERA in his time with the Cubs and has little experience in shutting down games.
As previously mentioned, the Cubs' corresponding move was calling up 18th-ranked prospect Jack Neely. Neely was acquired from the Yankees for Mark Leiter Jr. on trade deadline day. The young reliever went straight to AAA (Iowa). He appeared in six games and went 3/3 in save opportunities with 13 strikeouts. Neely was labeled as "MLB ready" when he was traded, and if not now, we probably would've seen him during the September call-up period. Oh yeah, he's 6'8', too.
It sucks for Neris, as there were many times when it was reported how good of a teammate he was. Unfortunately, he didn't carry the competitive "stuff" that the Cubs need right now, especially from a late-inning reliever. The Cubs are in full go-mode right now and must string together a few sweeps to get into the final wild-card spot. So, putting together a bullpen that will shut down the opposing in high-leverage innings is a must, and letting Neris go plays the part of making an elite bullpen.
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