Red Sox Urged To Claim Former Cubs Closer: 'Everything To Gain'

Here's one idea to retool the Boston bullpen...

Mar 12, 2022; Mesa, AZ, USA; Chicago Cubs assistant general manager Craig Breslow arrives during a spring training workout at Sloan Park. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports / Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

It's well-documented that the Boston Red Sox do not have a trustworthy bullpen at the moment. But could that be solved with one quick fix?

The Red Sox picked up a crucial series win against the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park this week, and the bullpen contributed 8 1/3 innings of scoreless baseball in the final two games. However, they've been a disaster on the whole since the All-Star break.

With a 6.46 bullpen ERA and 13 blown saves since July 19, the Red Sox are lapping the rest of the league when it comes to bullpen blowups. They tried to improve the relief pitcher pool at the trade deadline, but acquisitions Lucas Sims and Luis García have been a big part of the problem.

A team is rarely able to replenish their bullpen at this time of the year, but as chance would have it, a veteran reliever with lots of playoff experience happens to be available for any team to sign. One writer believes it is paramount the Red Sox bring that reliever to Boston.

Cody Williams of Fansided wrote recently that the Red Sox need to be "front of line" to sign Neris, who was released by the Cubs this week. He is currently a free agent, so the Red Sox would not need to go through the waiver system to sign him.

"Neris offers something that the Red Sox need in terms of potentially being a seventh-or-eighth-inning option," Williams said. "Yes, his overall numbers have been less than ideal this year with 3.89 ERA and 1.52 WHIP over 46 appearances. However, he was thrust into a closer role over and again when he was clearly not comfortable in that spot, which the numbers back up fully."

Williams accurately points out that trend from Neris' career: He has fared much better in non-save situations than he has when asked to close. He had a 2.69 ERA with the Houston Astros from 2022-2023, when he had just 10 save opportunities.

Meanwhile, in his career, Neris is just 106-for-142 in save opportunities, for a 74.6% conversion rate. To keep a closer role, relievers typically need to stay above 80%.

A World Series champion with 15 career playoff appearances, Neris would certainly add experience to the Red Sox pitching core. But will Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow beat the other interested parties to the punch?

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