The Yankees thought they were adding a valuable high-leverage arm to their bullpen two summers ago when acquiring Mark Leiter Jr. from the Cubs.

They bragged about his splitter being one of the best in the majors.

After making a great first impression by pitching a scoreless inning on the day of his trade, Leiter struggled with consistency pitching for the Yankees last year and this past season. The right-hander ran up a 4.98 over 21 games in the final two months of 2024 and a 4.84 ERA in 59 outings this season.

The Yankees showed they were down on Leiter Jr. in October by leaving him off their Division Series playoff roster.

By November, the Yankees decided to move on from the arbitration-eligible pitcher by non-tendering him a 2026 contract.

Suddenly a free agent, Leiter already i

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