Chicago Cubs Ink Veteran Closer to Surprising Deal

The Chicago Cubs inked a deal with a veteran reliever to improve their bullpen.

The Chicago Cubs are in agreement with Hector Neris on a one-year, $9 million contract, according to Jeff Passan of ESPN. The right-handed reliever was one of the top remaining arms on the market and gives the Cubs a lockdown arm when it matters most. 

The 34-year-old is coming off the best season of his career. Neris appeared in 68 1/3 innings over 71 appearances for the Houston Astros. He posted a 1.71 ERA and struck out 77.

Neris is a World Series champion, playing with the Astros for the past two seasons. In the first eight seasons of his career, he played for the Philadelphia Phillies.

Career-wise, Neris has posted a 3.24 ERA in 546 appearances. In every season since 2016, Neris has posted more than 47 2/3 innings besides the Covid season in 2020.

Chicago's decision to hold out paid off in this scenario, something that the front office has done all offseason. 

The Cubs still have moves to make as they look to make this roster better. They've done a great job by adding Shota Imanaga and now Neris, but there's much more work to be done. 

On the offensive side of things, they can improve drastically. The expectation is the team re-signs Cody Bellinger, who played at an elite level in 2023. Bellinger, arguably the top remaining free agent, should be impressed with this signing.

Adding a reliever that many contending teams were interested in shows that Chicago has plans to compete in 2024. As currently constructed, they could be one or two offensive pieces away from completing that task.