Neely cleared waivers Saturday and was sent outright to Triple-A Iowa, Bruce Levine of 670TheScore.com reports.
Neely lost his place on the 40-man roster Wednesday after making four appearances in the Cactus League, striking out seven batters across four scoreless innings. He posted a 6.23 ERA and 1.56 WHIP over 30.1 frames at Iowa last year, however, and he'll likely need to show consistent improvement before the Cubs consider bringing him back to the big leagues.
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Cubs' Jack Neely: Removed from 40-man roster
Rotowire
The Cubs designated Neely for assignment Wednesday.
Neely ended up being a roster casualty after the Cubs needed to free up a 40-man spot for infielder Scott Kingery, who won a utility role with the big club coming out of spring training. A 25-year-old righty reliever, Neely made six appearances out of the Chicago bullpen in 2024 but pitched exclusively in the minors in 2025. He struggled across his 28 appearances last season with Triple-A Iowa, logging a 6.23 ERA, 1.56 WHIP and 39:27 K:BB in 30.1 innings.
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Cubs' Jack Neely: Sent back to Triple-A
Rotowire
The Cubs optioned Neely to Triple-A Iowa on Wednesday, Maddie Lee of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.
Neely will give up his spot in the Chicago bullpen to right-hander Jorge Lopez (groin), who was reinstated from the 15-day injured list in a corresponding move. Through six appearances at the big-league level this season, Neely has given up six earned runs on eight hits and two walks while striking out seven over six innings.
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Cubs' Jack Neely: Optioned to Triple-A
Rotowire
The Cubs optioned Neely to Triple-A Iowa on Tuesday, Maddie Lee of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.
Neely was roughed up for six runs over four innings during his brief first stint in the majors. He'll be replaced on the roster and in the bullpen by Daniel Palencia.
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Cubs' Jack Neely: Added to roster
Rotowire
The Cubs selected Neely's contract from Triple-A Iowa on Tuesday, Jesse Rogers of ESPN.com reports.
Acquired from the Yankees in the Mark Leiter trade, Neely has collected a 2.42 ERA and 76:17 K:BB over 48.1 innings between the Double- and Triple-A levels in 2024. The 24-year-old will likely be used in low-leverage spots initially, but he could work his way into a more prominent role as part of an unsettled Cubs bullpen. Neely will be making his major-league debut when/if he gets into a game.
