Angels sign former World Series champion to minor league deal

The Los Angeles Angels have decided to bring in one of their former AL West division rivals.

Veteran reliever Hector Neris has signed a minor-league contract with the Angels. The news was revealed Wednesday on the team’s transactions page.

Neris, 35, is in his 12th career MLB season. He spent the first eight of those seasons with the Philadelphia Phillies before joining the Houston Astros in 2022. Neris had a successful tenure in Houston as a member of their World Series-winning team in 2022. He also previously pitched for the Chicago Cubs and the Atlanta Braves, holding a career ERA of 3.40 with 107 total saves (though Neris mainly pitches in a middle relief or setup role these days).

This season has been a struggle thus far for Neris as he allowed five earned runs in just two appearances for the Braves. Atlanta ultimately decided to designate Neris for assignment late last month, and he went on to elect free agency, setting the stage for the Angels to now scoop him up.

The Angels had a decent start to the 2025 campaign, winning each of their first four series. However, they have now lost three in a row and sit at 9-8.

Neris should be worth the dart-throw for the Angels, who just lost their eighth-inning guy Ben Joyce (the famous fireballer) to a shoulder injury. Interestingly enough, one of Neris’ former Astros teammates is also now in Anaheim as the No. 1 pitcher in the Angels’ rotation.