Yankees Emerging As 'Frontrunners' to Land Elite Reliever in Free Agency
For a while, it looked like the New York Yankees were going to sign flamethrowing reliever Jordan Hicks after continuously being linked to him throughout free agency.
However, he agreed to a four-year deal with the San Francisco Giants, forcing the Yankees to turn their attention elsewhere in order to land a bullpen piece.
They seemingly are zeroing in on their next target and could be getting close to signing him.
According to Mark Feinsand of MLB.com, New York and the Texas Rangers are "emerging as potential frontrunners" to land Hector Neris in the free agency market.
The 34-year-old is coming off an elite season with the Houston Astros where he posted a 1.71 ERA across 71 appearances. Neris joined the Astros before the 2022 season after eight years with the Philadelphia Phillies.
He would be a great addition for the Yankees this offseason as he's been one of the best relief pitchers in the game throughout his career.
Over his 546 appearances and 541 1/3 innings pitched, he has a career ERA of 3.24 and ERA+ of 129 with an 11.2 strikeout per nine innings ratio.
Neris should continue being a dominant reliever with his next team as well. He became a better pitcher during his two seasons in Houston, lowering his ERA of 3.42 with the Phillies down to an ERA of 2.69 with the Astros.
He also has gotten playoff experience the past two years, something that would greatly benefit New York's bullpen unit.
The right-hander declined his $8.5 million player option with Houston after the season and will almost assuredly be looking for something around the $10 million average annual value range.
No details have been reported about what's been offered or how much money Neris wants, but it seems like the Yankees are getting close to potentially landing another player.
