Taking a page out of Milwaukee’s playbook, the Cubs released veteran reliever, Hector Neris before he reached performance numbers that would kick in an option that wouldn’t benefit the Cubs in either the short or long run.

While not a perfect correlation, the Brewers and manager Craig Counsell often released players during the season when better options arose-some didn’t appear to make sense at the time, like the Josh Hader trade to San Diego.

Here’s the story from ESPN’s Jesse Rodgers.

Cubs releasing former closer Hector Neris, call up Jack Neely – ESPN

We’ll see who steps up to fill the void and if Neely has the right stuff. This by no means, means the Cubs or Counsell are throwing in the towel.