Former Houston Astros Star Reliever Drawing Interest From Their Two Rivals

One of the Houston Astros' former relievers could be playing baseball on one of their rivals next season according to a report.

The Houston Astros have deployed one of the best bullpen units in Major League Baseball the past few years. It's helped them have dominant regular seasons and postseasons, culminating in multiple divisional titles and a World Series championship.

A major piece of this unit was Hector Neris when he came over from the Philadelphia Phillies prior to 2022.

They knew they were getting a solid reliever after he posted a 3.42 ERA with the Phillies during his eight years there, but he became one of the game's best bullpen arms when he joined the Astros.

Neris lowered his ERA to 2.69 in Houston and is coming off his career-best year after posting an ERA of 1.71, and a ridiculous ERA+ of 246, across his 71 appearances and 68 1/3 innings pitched in 2023.

The star righty turned down his $8.5 million player option after the season to hit the open market.

One of the worst case scenarios could unfold for the Astros, as Neris is reportedly drawing interest from two of their rivals.

According to Mark Feinsand of MLB.com, the New York Yankees and Texas Rangers are "emerging as potential frontrunners" to sign their former reliever in free agency this offseason.

If this unfolds and he decides to sign with one of the those teams, Houston would potentially see him early on during the 2024 season as their Opening Day time against the Yankees has officially been announced and they'll get their ALCS rematch against the Rangers in April on Sunday Night Baseball.

The Astros would love to have Neris back, but with him likely looking for a contract around the $10 million annual average value range, they financially could not make it work with other holes on their roster still needing to be addressed.

If the righty does end up in New York or goes to their division rivals, that would be a tough pill to swallow.