Grew up and still lives in Villa Altagracia in the Dominican Republic, which is just north of Santo Domingo...attended and graduated from Colegio José Francisco Peña Gómez in 2008, where he played volleyball, chess and basketball...got into chess playing against his sister in school...also split his free time as a youth working as a rancher...Neris now owns his own ranch in Villa Altagracia, where he stables 15 horses and 300 cows...during the season, Neris’ mother watches after his horses...Neris also claims to be an expert horse rider...Growing up, Neris had many interests outside of baseball and didn’t devote himself to the game until a later age...he credits this devotion to a local trainer named Jose Neval, who persistently invited Neris to train...Neris reluctantly began training with Neval at the age of 17 and was eventually seen by a Cleveland scout who was on hand to look at a different player working out with Neval...that interest proved to Neris that this was the direction he wanted to go with his career...Did not sign with Cleveland, but less than a year later, he entered into a handshake agreement with the Royals...that deal was voided by MLB when questions about his identity were raised...Two years later, he officially signed with the Phillies at the age of 20 on April 29, 2010...signed by Phillies scout Koby Pérez...Spent 12 years in the Phillies system (2010-21) before reaching free agency after the 2021 season...signed by the Astros in free agency to a two-year contract on Nov. 30, 2021, which covers the 2022-23 seasons...At the time of his signing with Houston, one of Neris’ reasons for signing with the Astros was his desire to pitch in the postseason, which the Phillies had missed in each of his eight seasons (2014-21) in Philadelphia...Neris got his wish in 2022, pitching in eight postseason games for the Astros, including three scoreless appearances against his former club, the Phillies, in the 2022 World Series.
2022
Went 6-4 with a 3.72 ERA in 65.1 innings in his first season with the Astros...struck out 79 batters while reaching a career high in wins....kept walks per 9.0 innings down to a career-best figure in addition to WHIP and FIP figures...ranked tied for third in the AL in holds...Reached career-bests in wins (6), WHIP (1.01) and FIP (2.28) and single-season WAR (1.5)...Averaged 15.5 pitches per inning thrown, which is a career-best in a season...Ranked tied for third in the AL and tied for sixth in the Majors in holds (25)...ranked tied for fifth in the AL with 70 appearances...his 442 appearances since the start of 2016 are the most in MLB in that span... finished the year 12th in the AL in FIP at 2.28...Posted a 3.00 ERA and allowed a .161 opponent average at Minute Maid Park...Largely a 1.0-inning option, throwing more than 1.0 IP just once (1.1 IP on 8/23 vs. MIN)...Dominated early in the year, posting a 1.94 ERA through April and May...Made sixth Opening Day roster and first with club after signing during the offseason...Against the Diamondbacks on April 13, the Astros used six pitchers, including five Dominican-born pitchers: LHP Framber Valdez, RHP Ronel Blanco, RHP Cristian Javier, RHP Rafael Montero and Neris... according to Elias Sports, this tied a Major League record, which has been reached only four other times, also by the 2006 D-backs (3x) and the 2009 Royals (once)...Hurled a scoreless 8th inning in the Astros combined no-hitter on June 25 at NYY...recorded two of the Astros 20 strikeouts on July 3 vs. LAA, which tied a Major League record for a 9.0-inning game...In his first career Postseason, went 2-0 with three holds, a 1.50 ERA and nine strikeouts in 6.0 innings...allowed just two hits and one earned run... held batters to a .100 batting average...inherited seven runners and allowed none to score...earned his two wins in Game 2 of ALDS vs. SEA and in Game 4 of ALCS at NYY.
2021
Finished the season with the following all-time ranks among Phillies relievers: first in strikeouts (520), second in OPP AVG (.220), third in WHIP (1.19), fourth in games (405), seventh in innings (407.2) and games finished (197) and eighth in saves (82)...His final out recorded on Oct. 3 at MIA was the 520th strikeout of his career, passing Ron Reed for most all-time among Phillies relievers...Made 70 or more appearances for the third time (also: 2016-17), tied with Ryan Madson and Kent Tekulve for most in club history...Became the only pitcher in Phillies history to be used exclusively in relief for eight seasons...Had a 1.90 ERA (5ER/23.2IP), 1.01 WHIP (8 BB, 16 H), 29 strikeouts and held opponents to a .186 AVG in his first 25 appearances...Made his 200th career appearance at Citizens Bank Park on July 26 vs WSH, joining Ryan Madson (256) as the only two Phillies to have 200 or more appearances at the venue...Recorded the 500th strikeout of his career on Sept. 6 at MIL...On Sept. 21 vs. BAL, became just the seventh Phillie to make 400 appearances for the team, joining Steve Carlton, Robin Roberts, Ryan Madson, Tug McGraw, Chris Short and Ron Reed...Averaged 11.87 SO/9.0 IP (98 SO, 74.1 IP) and had a 31.6 % strikeout rate (98 SO, 310 BF)...Had five appearances in which he pitched an inning and struck out the side, giving him 30 for his career, more than twice as many as any Phillies reliever since at least 1901.
2020
His 24 appearances were tied with Tommy Hunter for most on the club...Retired the first batter 19 times in 24 plate appearances, holding the leadoff batters to a .136/.208/.136 slash line...On injured list, 6/30-7/22...In his final 15 appearances, was 3-for-3 in save opportunities with a 2.35 ERA (4 ER, 15.1 IP) and 20 strikeouts...With a season-high four strikeouts in his final appearance on 9/27 at TB, moved into 4th on the all-time strikeout list among Phillies relievers (422), behind Ron Reed (519), Ryan Madson (486) and Tug McGraw (483)...Finished the season with the following all-time Phillies relief rankings: 4th in SO (422), 7th in appearances (331) and 9th in saves (72).
2019
Ranked 6th among NL relievers in games finished (49), T-7th in saves (28), 8th in OPP AVG (.186), 9th in save percentage (82.4%), T-9th in strikeouts (89) and 10th in WHIP (1.02)...His 28 saves set a new career high...Had a 1.30 ERA (4 ER, 27.2 IP) in 27 appearances, 3/31-6/11... Had a streak of 6 straight appearances with multiple strikeouts, 4/14-27, most by a Phillies reliever since Ken Giles, 7/30-8/12/15 (6)... Converted his first career six-out save on 5/18 vs COL...Converted 14 straight saves to start the season, tied for the 6th-longest saves streak to begin a season in franchise history...Posted a 0.55 ERA (1 ER, 16.1 IP) with seven hits allowed and 25 strikeouts in those 14 save opportunities...Had a 13.0-inning scoreless streak, 7/21-8/21...Served a three-game suspension, 8/1-3...Posted a 1.00 ERA (3 ER, 27.0 IP) with 10 saves, 13 hits allowed and 34 strikeouts in his final 27 appearances of the season... Recorded 6 saves against ATL, most by a Phillie against a single opponent in a season since 2014 (Jonathan Papelbon, 7 vs MIA)...Had six saves of four or more outs, T-4th in MLB and T-2nd-most by a Phillie since 2000 with Billy Wagner's six in 2005 behind Seranthony Dominguez's seven in 2018...Stranded 80.0% of his inherited runners (16-20)...Following the season, pitched for Este in the Dominican Winter League.
2018
Among all ML relievers, finished 5th in SO/9.0 IP (14.35); trailed only Josh Hader (15.82) among NL relievers... Made his third consecutive Opening Day roster... Had his saves streak come to an end at 21 on 4/11 vs CIN, which at the time was the longest active streak in the majors...Optioned to Lehigh Valley (AAA) on 6/18 and was recalled for a brief stint with the Phillies, 6/25-30...Recalled on 8/14 and spent the remainder of the season with the Phillies...Made 11 straight scoreless appearances after being recalled, striking out 21 of the 36 batters he faced (58.3%) and allowing 5 hits in 9.2 IP... Was named the Hartford Presents NL Reliever of the Month for August, the first Phillie to win that award and second Phillie to win a Reliever of the Month Award (Jonathan Papelbon, MLB Delivery Man of Month, April 2012)... His 20 strikeouts from his first appearance in August (8/15) to the end of the month were five more than any other reliever in baseball...Posted a 2.04 ERA (4 ER, 17.2 IP) with 35 SO and 5 BB in his final 19 appearances after being recalled on 8/14...Recorded at least one strikeout in 24 straight appearances, 6/17-end of season, the longest streak by a Phillies reliever since at least 1908 and longest active streak in MLB to finish the season... Recorded multiple strikeouts in 15 of his final 23 appearances (17.85 SO/9.0 IP, 41 SO, 20.2 IP)...His 39 career saves are 2nd-most in Phillies history by a Dominican-born pitcher, behind only Jose Mesa (112)
2017
Made his 2nd consecutive Opening Day roster... Among all NL relievers, T-4th in games finished (56) and ranked 5th in games (74), 8th in saves (26) and 9th in save % (89.7) & innings (74.2)... His 89.7 save % was the 8th-highest ever by a Phillies pitcher with at least 20 save opportunities... Appeared in 3 games for the Dominican Republic in the 2017 World Baseball Classic (2.70 ERA)... Successfully converted each of his final 20 save opportunities, the longest streak by a Phillie in a single season since Brad Lidge converted all 41 of his saves in 2008... Was 15-for-15 in saves against the NL East and posted a 1.64 ERA in 36 games... His 26 saves were the most in a single season by a Dominican-born Phillies pitcher since 2003 (Jose Mesa, 24) and his 28 career saves are 2nd-most in Phillies history by a Dominican-born pitcher, behind only Mesa (112)... Had a 1.98 ERA (16 ER, 72.2 IP) in 71 of his 74 appearances.
2016
Made his first Opening Day roster...Among NL relievers, finished 3rd in innings (80.1), T-3rd in games (79) and 5th in SO (102)...His 102 SO were the 2nd-most ever by a Phillies reliever, behind only Dick Selma (153 SO in 1970)...Became the 4th reliever in Phillies history to collect 100 SO in a season...Had a 1.94 ERA (17 ER, 79.0 IP) in 77 of his 79 appearances...Had a career-best 14.2-inning scoreless streak, 9/23/15-4/22/16 (13 G)...Tossed a career-high 2.2 innings, 4/20 vs NYM...Earned his 1st career save, 5/1 vs CLE...Had a 1.29 ERA (4 ER, 28.0 IP) and 0.71 WHIP (7 BB, 13 H) over his first 26 games, 4/4-5/29...His 46 appearances before the All-Star break were the most by a Phillies reliever since 2004 (Rheal Cormier) and only 1 shy of Kent Tekulve's club record 47 in 1987...Struck out 102 of the 328 batters he faced (31.1% SO rate)...Pitched in 3 games for Este in the Dominican Winter League
2015
Shuttled between Lehigh Valley (AAA) and the Phillies all season...Began the season with Lehigh Valley...Had a 1.80 ERA (2 ER, 10.0 IP) through his first seven appearances, then an 11.74 ERA (10 ER, 7.2 IP) in his next eight games before posting a 0.46 ERA (3 ER, 19.2 IP) through his final 12 games...Pitched at least 2.0 innings in 11 of his 27 appearances with Lehigh Valley and had a 2.01 ERA (5 ER, 22.1 IP) in those games...Posted a 3.00 ERA (13 ER, 39.0 IP) in 31 of his 32 ML appearances; allowed a career-high 4 ER in 1.1 IP, 8/24 vs NYM...Tossed a career-high 2.1 innings on 8/11 at ARI...Averaged 9.15 SO/9.0 IP (41 SO, 40.1 IP) with the Phillies...Posted a 2.65 ERA (5 ER, 17.0 IP) on the road, as opposed to a 4.63 ERA (12 ER, 23.1 IP) at Citizens Bank Park...Pitched in 18 games for Este in the Dominican Winter League (1-2, 3.00 ERA) and averaged 9.0 SO/9.0 IP (21 SO, 21.0 IP)
2014
Shuttled between Lehigh Valley (AAA) and Reading (AA) most of the season... Had a 15.0-inning scoreless streak (9 G) for Lehigh Valley, 7/12-8/7... Had his contract selected on 8/3... Made his ML debut and earned the win, 8/5 vs HOU (1.0 IP, SO); optioned back to Lehigh Valley following the game... Did not allow a run in 26 of his 37 games with Lehigh Valley (70%), but allowed 3 or more runs in 6 of 37 (16%)... Posted a 0.43 ERA (1 ER, 21.0 IP) in 14 home games with Lehigh Valley... Pitched for Este in the Dominican Winter League, where he did not allow a run in 18.0 IP (20 G)
2013
Spent the season with Reading... Pitched at least 1.0 inning in 21 of his 38 relief appearances (55%)... Pitched for Este in the Dominican Winter League (1-0, 1.93 ERA, 10 G) and Mochis in the Mexican Winter League (0-0, 0.00 ERA, 2 G)
2012
Spent the entire season with Clearwater (A)... Posted a 1.26 ERA (2 ER, 14.1 IP) in 9 April games... Averaged 10.75 SO/9.0 IP... Threw more than 1.0 inning in 28 of his 50 relief appearances (56%)... Pitched for Este in the Dominican Winter League (0-1, 5.68 ERA, 6 G)
2011
Split the season between Williamsport (A) and Lakewood (A)... 12 of his 15 appearances with Williamsport were scoreless... Had a 1.77 ERA (4 ER, 20.1 IP) in his final 11 games with Lakewood after posting a 6.75 ERA (11 ER, 14.2 IP) through his first 8 appearances... Held LHH to a .161 AVG (10-62) with Lakewood... Averaged 10.98 SO/9.0 IP between both levels (72 SO, 59.0 IP)
2010
Made his pro debut with the Dominican Summer League Phillies (R)... Held opponents to a .199 AVG (30-151)... Participated in Florida Instructional League
