Over the course of his now eight-year career in Philadelphia, the Phillies organization and fans have gotten to know 32-year old bullpen arm, Hector Neris very well. He’s a career 3.42 ERA out of the pen, a quality number, but he’s experienced a variety of ups-and-downs in red pinstripes. For a number of years, Hector served as the Phillies closer as he recorded his first save in ‘16. He sits at #8 on the Phillies all-time saves leaders list with 84, though the entirety of the list is a bit discouraging. He was never the best closer in the league, but he got the job done at a reasonable rate. 

Similar to his roller-coaster career performance, Hector had his high and low points in 2021. Hector started the year as the Phillies 9th-inning man, but ultimately ended up in a 7th-inning role where he found success by the end of the year. After he’d blown 6 save opportunities over 32 appearances this season by midsummer, the Phillies acquired a new arm for the closer role at the trade deadline in RP Ian Kennedy. The blown save opportunity that still stings for Phillies fans was Pablo Sandoval’s two-out, two-run homerun off of a high Neris fastball in the bottom of the 9th to tie the game for the world-series winning Braves in a May matchup. He earned himself the nickname “heart attack Hector” for his nerve-wracking performances.  

The Phillies were frustrated with Hector but far from giving up on him. He has a long history in both the league and in Philadelphia of success. He just needed to be utilized in a different role after ‘getting the yips’. Phillies manager Joe Girardi began using Neris consistently in the 7th-inning where he was able to get hitters out at a reliable rate once again. Neris went the rest of the year having success in his setup role, while avoiding save opportunities. In total, Neris’ numbers this year are not all that great as he has career highs in categories such as earned runs allowed, home runs allowed, and walks allowed. But, he did bounce back positively in some areas after getting his new 7th-inning role like his 74.1 innings pitched, the 3rd most in the National League. Hector had a so-so year for the Phillies in hindsight, but the late inning split-baller will certainly be back next year to add to his seasoned Philadelphia career.