Yankees New Pitching Target Has Me Laughing Out Loud!

I have a few mottos in life. One of them is “You can’t get a ‘no’ if you don’t ask” and I believe that. Maybe Hector Neris does too, or maybe he is just crazy!

I’m leaning more towards crazy, personally. The Yankees are interested in veteran reliever Neris, read more HERE. It’s an interesting focus for the Yankees considering how it was the strength of the team and one of the best in MLB. I wish they would add another quality starter, but the Yankees should bolster anything and everything they can.

But why Neris? It’s a valid question. One of my reasons that I do not want the Yankees to sign Blake Snell is because he’s prone to the longball and has control issues. Neris walked 31 hitters in 71 games last year, a sharp increase from the 17 batters he walked the year prior. He also had some undesirable first last year, including his lowest percentage of ground balls in his 10-year career at 34% and the highest percentage of fly balls in his career at 33.5%. Considering some of these numbers come from home at Minute Maid Park, these numbers could be even uglier at hitter friendly Yankee stadium. His velocity is also down, which will be an on-going concern for a soon to be 35-year-old reliever.

Just like the cliche says though, timing is everything. Neris is coming off a career year with a 1.17 ERA over 71 games and 68 1/3 innings and held hitters to a .174 batting average. He also had the second best left on base percentage of any reliever, so it’s a good time for him to cash in. However, I wouldn’t count on that 1.71 ERA to continue since he’s getting up there in age and his career 3.24 ERA. I’m not bagging on his career ERA, it’s still good…. but I don’t think 2023 Neris will stick around long term.

So you may be asking “why are you laughing?” and I wouldn’t blame you. Neris is looking to cash in after a career best season. I don’t blame him, all players do it. However, he’s asking for a three-year $50 million deal and I think he is crazy but again “you can’t get a ‘no’ if you don’t ask.” The market for relief pitchers is always tough. You don’t typically see these deals given for more than $16 million a year unless you are an elite closer. Oh and, not to a guy who’s going to be 35 when the season starts and 38 when it ends. It’s just a crazy idea.

Maybe Neris sees himself as that closer type and that’s why he’s asking for the moon, I don’t know. What I do know is that the Yankees are interested and that there is some risk to this guy pitching in Yankee stadium. Oh and….he’s not worth his asking price. 

I’m not gonna hold my breath on this one, but it did make me laugh. Next?!

–Jeana Bellezza-Ochoa

BYB Senior Managing Editor

Twitter: @nyprincessj