When the Houston Astros reacquired reliever Héctor Neris off waivers from the Chicago Cubs, there was a general sense of calm and relief attached the right-hander’s return. Neris was one of the Astros’ most reliable relievers just a season ago, and he, along with Phil Maton and Ryne Stanek, left during free agency this past offseason.
Neris latched on with the Cubs after inking a one-year, $8 million deal. But the veteran didn’t fare too well on the North Side of Chicago. The Cubs designated Neris for assignment back in August after he posted a 3.89 ERA 46 appearances coming out of the Chicago bullpen.
Houston was happy to reunite with Neris. After all, you can never have enough pitching. However, Neris’ return to H-Town has been a bit underwhelming. While his 2.53 ERA is very respectable, there are some obvious concerns as well.
Héctor Neris latest stint with Astros isn’t exactly helping his impending free agency
The biggest being Neris’ FIP, naturally. For those unaware, FIP (fielding independent pitching) essentially measures what a pitcher’s ERA would look like if there was league-average defense playing behind him. More often than not, the stat is used to defend a pitcher whose ERA might be a product of poor defense. But … that’s the not case when it comes to Neris…