Héctor Neris is now an Astro after signing a two-year, $17 million contract, but he won’t have the same role he partially had with the Philadelphia Phillies for the past five years. With Ryan Pressly locked in as the Astros’ closer, Neris will be another good late-inning option in Dusty Baker’s hands. That might actually be good for him.
Neris already has 84 career saves, but there are numbers that suggest he’s better when he’s not in charge of sealing victories. Without going too far, let’s begin with last year. After a pretty dominant two-month period in April and May, Neris fell off the Earth in June, going 0-2 with four blown saves in nine appearances.