Proper-handed reliever Mark Leiter Jr. has agreed to a one-year cope with the Athletics, a supply informed MLB.com’s Martín Gallegos on Thursday morning. The membership has not confirmed the deal, which is pending a bodily and value about $3 million, in keeping with ESPN’s Jesse Rogers.
Leiter, who turns 35 on March 13, grew to become a free agent on Nov. 21 as soon as he was non-tendered by the Yankees. Though he was a key setup man for New York within the early portion of the 2025 season, he fell out of favor after recording a 7.30 ERA from Could 31 on. Nonetheless, Leiter generated a variety of delicate contact (88th percentile in barrel fee, 94th percentile in hard-hit fee), so though he completed 2025 with a 4.84 ERA over 48 1/3 innings, his anticipated ERA was 3.72. He additionally recorded a 3.55 FIP.
Leiter was acquired by the Yankees from the Cubs forward of the Commerce Deadline in 2024. That season, Leiter gave up extra agency contact than he did in ‘25, however his strikeout fee soared as much as 33.6%, by far his greatest as a Main Leaguer. It fell again to 24.7% final season.
A Fort Lauderdale, Fla., native who went to high school in New Jersey, Leiter depends on a three-pitch combine: a low-to-mid-90s sinker, a mid-80s splitter, and a mid-70s curveball that bought a powerful 6.3 extra inches of vertical drop in 2025 in comparison with curves with comparable velocities and launch factors. Leiter’s whiff fee on that curveball has been at 50% or higher in every of the previous two seasons.
A Twenty second-round Draft choose by the Phillies in 2013, Leiter debuted with the Phils in 2017 and pitched in 39 video games (11 begins) earlier than he was designated for task in August 2018. He completed that season with the Blue Jays, tossing 6 2/3 innings over eight appearances. Leiter then underwent Tommy John surgical procedure in 2019 and though he had stints within the D-backs’ and Tigers’ organizations, he wouldn’t make it again to the massive leagues till 2022 with the Cubs. He combined in a four-seamer and a cutter again in these days, however by 2025, these two pitches had been successfully eradicated from his repertoire.
Leiter, whose father pitched 11 seasons within the Majors, is the nephew of two-time All-Star pitcher Al Leiter and the cousin of Rangers starter Jack Leiter.
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