Chicago Cubs release reliever Héctor Neris and call up right-hander Jack Neely

The Chicago Cubs are making moves with an eye on 2025.

Veteran reliever Héctor Neris was designated for assignment and released Tuesday when he wasn’t claimed off waivers, a source confirmed to the Tribune.

The Cubs placed Neris on waivers before Saturday’s game against Toronto and informed him of the decision postgame. Manager Craig Counsell said Neris understood and was very professional. He threw a shutout inning in Sunday’s 1-0 loss.

Right-hander Jack Neely , who was acquired from the New York Yankees for reliever Mark Leiter Jr., has been called up to take the roster spot.

“I had never been traded before, so I didn’t really know how to feel,” Neely said Tuesday. “I was excited. Obviously, it was a great opportunity. It just kind of hit me like a whirlwind a little bit.”

Neris, 35, had a $9 million club option for 2025 that would have become a player option if he made 60 appearances or finished 45 games this season while not ending the year on the injured list. He was trending towards hitting both marks as the Cubs closer, sitting at 46 appearances and 33 games finished entering the team’s series opener Tuesday against the Detroit Tigers. He posted a 3.89 ERA and 107 ERA+ in 44 innings while recording 17 saves in 22 chances.

President of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said the Cubs are at the time of year when they’re trying to get a look at different guys in different roles.

“Over the course of the year, we’ve really turned over the bullpen, it’s become a strength,” Hoyer said Tuesday. “Obviously, those things are fragile. We’ll keep working to do it, but we want to be able to do that next year as well. And whether it’s Neely or other guys we want to take a look at in different roles. I think that was important to do this time.”

The Cubs’ place in the standings didn’t have a huge impact on the decision, with Hoyer comparing it to how the organization approached their trade deadline strategy. Hoyer didn’t rule out the Cubs giving other younger players at Triple-A Iowa a big-league opportunity, saying “we’ll certainly have those conversations” but “nothing’s scheduled.”

“It’s hard when you get to this point in the season,” Hoyer said. “We are playing better and you want to keep winning games, and you want to focus on that, and you also want to make sure you can take a look at guys that we believe are part of our future.”

Neris’ departure creates a spot in the bullpen for Neely, 24, and an opportunity for the organization to get a look at how he could fit on next year’s roster.

“When you do something like this the young player has something,” Counsell said. “So there’s an eye on does it affect this year? Maybe. Does it affect next year as well as the future? Yeah, I think both is true.”

The 6-foot-8 Neely had been dominant at Triple-A Iowa in six outings since joining his new organization. He struck out 13 of 25 batters faced in 6 2/3 innings with just one walk and one unearned run allowed.

Counsell will view ninth-inning options with an open mind. Right-handers Jorge López and Porter Hodge will be in that mix.

“I think certainly Jorge is a guy, one of the guys, that has really moved forward here and pitched really well and earned some big spots,” Counsell said.

Hodge got the opportunity Tuesday night, working around a leadoff double from Detroit’s Spencer Torkelson by retiring the next three batters, two of whom — Jace Jung and Javier Báez — struck out to secure the 3-1 win over the Tigers.

“We didn’t have an answer for Torkelson tonight, he had a great night and it was a pretty good pitch that he hit, actually,” Counsell said. “I thought Porter pitched wonderfully. I thought the bullpen as a whole, Tyson (Miller) and Drew (Smyly) were awesome. Racked up some strikeouts, all three of them, so they did a great job. Porter was excellent.”

Related Articles

• Chicago Cubs | ‘Always going to be a champion here’: Javier Báez makes his first return to Wrigley Field since 2021 trade from the Chicago Cubs
• Chicago Cubs | How Michael Busch stays ready when he’s not in the Chicago Cubs lineup against lefties: ‘A mental battle’
• Chicago Cubs | Milwaukee Brewers were expected to take a step back. Instead, they’ve built the biggest division lead in MLB.
• Chicago Cubs | Column: Kamala Harris, Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama? Which political star from the DNC should sing at Wrigley Field?
• Chicago Cubs | Chicago Cubs miss out on sweep in 1-0 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays: ‘You look at today as a missed opportunity’

Counsell acknowledged the Cubs won’t be able to replace Neris’ experience but noted how well the bullpen has been pitching lately.

“We’ve had some players really step up,” Counsell said. “We’re going to hope we can find another player here that can step up and make an impact and continue to provide some options for the rest of this year and moving forward.“

Neely learned of his first big-league call-up shortly after Triple-A Iowa rolled out of Des Moines for a road series in Toledo. The bus abruptly turned around about 5-10 minutes into the drive and when they arrived back at Iowa’s ballpark, Neely was told he needed to get off the bus — he was heading to Chicago.

Neely has a few friendly faces in the Cubs’ system from crossing paths with the Yankees, knowing assistant pitching coach Daniel Moskos and right-hander Hayden Wesneski from their respective time there. Neely also went to junior college at San Jacinto with Cubs lefty Luke Little and roomed there with pitching prospect Brandon Birdsell.

“They made it extremely simple coming over here,” Neely said of joining the organization. “I mean, they welcomed me and said, ‘We’re here to support you any way we can.’ And they did, and it played a huge part in me getting here so I’m very thankful for that.”