Cardinals remain linked to two former Astros relievers

In order to bolster their bullpen, the St. Louis Cardinals remain interested in finding high-leverage relievers for 2024. Both Phil Maton and Hector Neris, former relievers for the Houston Astros, are on the Cardinals' radar at the moment. Derrick Goold of the Post-Dispatch has also discussed the team's interest in both relievers in his chats. With Yuki Matsui off the board, the Cardinals must pivot elsewhere to bulk up the bullpen.

While John Mozeliak spoke bullishly about his relievers with Tom Ackerman of KMOX, the Cardinals' bullpen could use some reinforcements. Ryan Helsley seems primed to return to his role as the team's closer, and Giovanny Gallegos and lefty JoJo Romero also figure to be in the mix for some late-inning work next year. Zack Thompson, John King, Nick Robertson, and Matthew Liberatore could round out the relief corps. Many of those players have a history of performing well, but it is still a shaky collection of players.

Last season, the Cardinals' bullpen ranked 23rd in all of baseball in ERA and WHIP to go along with twenty-eight blown saves (56% save rate) and a staff strikeout rate of just 22.2%. While the trades of Chris Stratton and Jordan Hicks at the Trade Deadline hurt the bullpen for the back half of last year, those numbers are still eye-popping. Strikeouts and high-leverage experience should be qualities that John Mozeliak looks for in his bullpen for 2024.

Either Hector Neris or Phil Maton would be a great final piece to the puzzle that is the St. Louis Cardinals' 2023 bullpen situation. These two relievers are familiar with Major League Baseball, and the fact that the Cardinals didn't sign Yuki Matsui could speak to the team's desire to find players with a track record in MLB.

Let's take a look at how these two relievers might fit into the St. Louis Cardinals' bullpen for 2024.

Hector Neris

Hector Neris made a brief appearance for the Philadelphia with the Phillies in 2014, but he played full-time for the team starting in 2015. Neris went on to play for them for a total of seven seasons before he signed a two-year dal with the Houston Astros in 2021. He was the primary closer for the Phillies in 2017 and 2019, and he racked up a total of fifty-four saves in those two seasons.

The former closer turns thirty-five in June, so a one or two-year deal is likely. Neris turned down an $8.5 million player option from the Astros; he is likely looking to command a deal with an average annual value north of $10 million.

During his brief two-year stint with the Astros, Neris pitched 133.2 innings, had a 2.69 ERA, struck out 156 batters, and had a WHIP of 1.032. His 2023 season was stellar; he finished with a 1.71 ERA, 3.83 FIP, 1.054 WHIP, and he struck out 10.1 batters per nine innings. The huge discrepancy between his ERA and his FIP indicates some good luck on his part and a stout defense behind him. He walked a near-career high amount of batters (11.4% walk rate), but he maintained low hit and home run rates.

Neris is no stranger to high-leverage situations. He has an extensive history as a closer, and most of his work was done in high-leverage situations last year for the Astros. According to Fangraphs, Neris faced 116 batters in important situations. He held batters to a .131/.246/.232 slash line while giving up three home runs. He struck out thirty-three batters to thirteen walks.

Hector Neris would immediately be a boost to the team's bullpen. He comes with some concerns given his high FIP, but hopefully the Cardinals' defense returns to form next year. With multiple Gold Glovers across the infield, Neris should continue to see success late in games. He could be used in tandem with Ryan Helsley at the back end of the bullpen, and the two could split "closer" duties.