Seattle Mariners' Nemesis Brings Back Pitcher That M's Fans Can't Stand For Stretch Run
He's baaaaaaaaack.
That's right, Seattle Mariners' nemesis Hector Neris has re-signed with the Houston Astros for the stretch run in a "kick me while I'm down" moment.
It's one thing to see the Mariners struggle and falter for the last two months. It's another to see them blow a 10.0 game division lead and it's another to see them blow that lead to the hated Astros.
The final straw just might be seeing Neris come back to Houston and potentially win another ring, since he is one of the most disliked players around by M's fans.
Héctor Neris is reportedly signing with the Houston Astros. pic.twitter.com/6RRmcOnaBw
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) August 22, 2024
Neris has a history with the Mariners dating back to 2022. He was suspended for throwing at then-Mariners third baseman Eugenio Suarez.
Then, in 2023, he taunted Julio Rodriguez after a strikeout and appeared to call him a homophobic slur in Spanish. This is our story on that incident from last September.
Just insane behavior, never seen it before. pic.twitter.com/U2hcn8mdVS https://t.co/DiOTaFAH5c
— Mariner Muse (@MarinerMuse) September 28, 2023
The 35-year-old Neris is not having a great season, having been DFA'd by the Chicago Cubs. Though he's 8-4 with a 3.89 ERA, it's a far cry from the 1.71 ERA that he had a season ago in Houston. He lost his closer's job with the Cubs this year and the team moved on from him. He still has good strikeout stuff, having fanned 46 batters in 44.0 innings.
He'll pair with Bryan Abreu, Josh Hader and Ryan Pressly to make up the back-end of the Astros bullpen.
Houston will play the Baltimore Orioles in a crucial series this weekend, while the Mariners will take on the San Francisco Giants. Given that the Orioles are one of the best teams in baseball, this seems like the last-best chance for the M's to stay in the race.
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