The New York Yankees acquired right-handed reliever Mark Leiter Jr. from the Chicago Cubs in exchange for infielder Ben Cowles and right-handed reliever Jack Neely, the teams announced on Tuesday. The transaction comes just hours before Major League Baseball’s Tuesday 6:00 p.m. ET trading deadline.
Leiter, 33, has a 4.21 ERA and 2.11 FIP in 39 appearances this season, recording 53 strikeouts and 13 unintentional walks across 36 1/3 innings. Leiter’s FIP (what’s this?) is substantially lower than his ERA, implying he’s been unfortunate thus far, and the Yankees will undoubtedly hope he improves during their tenure.
His July figures should provide some hope: 7 2/3 innings, 0 hits, 0 runs allowed, 0 walks, and 14 strikeouts. Leiter is still in his arbitration years and is owed the remainder of his $1.5 million pay for 2024. He isn’t eligible for free agency until after the 2026 season.
Leiter’s father, Mark, and uncle, Al, both pitched for the Yankees during their MLB careers.
Cowles, 24, is a former 10th-round pick with an OPS of.795 in parts of four minor-league seasons for the Cubs. The 24-year-old Neely, a former 11th-round pick out of Ohio State, has a lifetime ERA of 2.75 and a K/BB ratio of 4.11 in four minor-league seasons.
The Yankees, who also acquired outfielder/infielder Jazz Chisholm Jr. in a deal, are battling the Baltimore Orioles for the AL East lead. The Cubs remain in the NL wild-card race, although at the margins, and have taken a mixed buy-sell approach leading up to the deadline.
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