Opening Day and Opening Weekend have come and gone, and now the Major League Baseball season is fully upon us for the next six months. The Philadelphia Phillies got off to a winning start in Washington, taking two of three from the Nationals. While the NL East promises to be a competitive division this season, perhaps nobody had the Miami Marlins leading the way at any point, but they finished the weekend at the top of the pile at 3-1 — before getting clobbered by the Mets on Monday.
In a surprising turn of events, the Atlanta Braves got off to a disastrous start to their season, going a hilarious 0-4 through a four-game series on the road in San Diego. Their offense scored only seven runs, including back-to-back shutouts over the weekend, but it’s one of Atlanta’s relievers who has been made a scapegoat.
Braves DFA former Phillies pitcher Héctor Neris after going 0-4 on Opening Weekend
On Monday, the Braves designated former Phillies right-hander Héctor Neris for assignment after he imploded out of their bullpen at Petco Park. The news was reported by MLB.com’s Mark Bowman, as the Phillies’ rivals brought back a familiar face, right-hander Jesse Chavez, in Neris’ place.
Neris appeared in two games for the Braves. On Opening Day, he gave up three runs on three hits without recording an out and took the loss. The stellar performance included this game-tying home run to Gavin Sheets in the seventh innings:
Holy Sheets 🤯 pic.twitter.com/qoC5S3CbZp
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) March 27, 2025
Neris got through an inning in his second game, on Sunday, but gave up a couple of runs in the process, helping the Padres blank Atlanta 5-0. He finished his short stint in the NL East with a 45.00 ERA and 6.00 WHIP.
The Braves only just signed the 35-year-old to a minor league deal with an invitation to spring training at the beginning of March, so he didn’t even last a month with the organization. With the Braves desperate for bullpen help, he made the Opening Day roster after posting three scoreless spring innings.
The Dominican native broke in to the majors with the Phillies in 2014 and pitched for the club through the 2021 season. He had a 3.42 ERA and 1.19 WHIP with 520 strikeouts in 407 2/3 innings in red pinstripes. Neris racked up 84 saves and 55 holds during his time in Philadelphia
He moved on to the Houston Astros, where he won the World Series in 2022 before posting another solid campaign in 2023. He struggled in 2024, splitting the season between Houston and the Chicago Cubs, posting a 4.10 ERA and 1.40 WHIP in 62 appearances.
Now, it just remains to be seen if another MLB franchise takes a flier on Neris this season, or if the former Phillies closer is at the end of a long career.
