Philadelphia Phillies: Ranking Their Best Trade Chips
By Chuck Booth
Number One: Hector Neris
As I said earlier, if a team is looking for help in the bullpen the Phillies are the first team that they should dial. They have some of the best relievers that could be on the market this summer and it’s not even close. As we come to the end of this ranking we come to the Phillies most valuable trade chip and it’s another relief pitcher, setup man Hector Neris.
Neris is another relief pitcher whose value is helped by the Ken Giles deal last offseason. Neris is also another pitcher that the Phillies don’t have to move, raising his value even more. Hector Neris is “Wade Davis lite” type pitcher, nearly unhittable and very important to building a rock solid bullpen. Besides one blip where Neris gave up three runs to the Nationals he has been the best relief pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies.
Neris has an ERA of 2.05 and has struck out 40 batters in 30.2 innings pitched so he’s more in the mold of your average relief pitcher. Neris also is showing that he could have closers potential down the line which again raises his value to a team that may want him.
At 26 time is on Neris’ side but the Phillies would be wise to listen to offers as Neris may never have a value that’s higher than right now. He’s also under team control until 2022 and isn’t eligible for arbitration until 2019 so he could be a very cheap relief option for years to come for whoever would want to acquire him.
Neris is easily the Phillies best trade chip even is he doesn’t have the closer title with those factors. It wouldn’t be surprising to see the Phillies get a top-10 prospect and two other top-30 prospects from a team to start talking about Neris. But like Jeanmar Gomez, this may be more of a winter meetings deal.
Next: What Now?