Jack Neely: Everything you need to know

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.

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.

The Cubs optioned Neely to Triple-A Iowa on Sunday. Neely delivered three scoreless frames with six strikeouts in three spring appearances, but it wasn't enough to give him a chance of cracking the Opening Day roster. The right-hander struggled to a 6.23 ERA and 1.56 WHIP over 28 outings with Iowa last year.