Philadelphia Phillies: Possible Hector Neris Trade Destinations
By Tim Boyle
If the Philadelphia Phillies decide to trade Hector Neris, where could he go?
The 2018 Philadelphia Phillies won’t look drastically different from the 2017 team, but they will have a few new faces. This means some of those familiar smiles won’t return either. Included in this latter group is closer Hector Neris.
The Phillies got lucky with Neris. In 2015, he showed promising abilities. The following season, Neris made the leap from promising to capable.
Neris appeared in 79 games for the 2016 Phillies during which he delivered a 2.58 ERA over 80.1 innings of work. While he took a backseat to others in the closer role, Neris established himself as a late-bloomer with a bright future. The good times continued into 2017 where Neris ended the year with a 3.01 ERA and 26 saves. For the second straight season, he also fanned more than 10 batters per nine frames.
The stuff is there. The ability to get outs and convert saves is also present. Neris has all of the attributes to be a regular closer. Unfortunately, the timing is not right for the Phillies. This is a team expected to rebuild for at least another year, which may mean the best seasons of his career are wasted on a bottom of the standings team.
Right now, the Phillies don’t need a closer like Neris. They could use a lot of other help which is why trading him this offseason is one way to climb the standings sooner than later. Neris has a lot more trade value than we give him credit for thanks to his skill and years of control. The 28-year-old won’t even reach arbitration until after the 2018 campaign.
So, if the Phillies do want to find a match in a potential Neris trade, which organizations are a possible match?