The Yankees announced that they have acquired right-hander Mark Leiter Jr. from the Cubs. In return, the Cubs will receive infielder Ben Cowles and right-hander Jack Neely. The Yankees had an open 40-man spot, but that roster is full, while the Cubs have dropped to 38.
After a late-bloomer trajectory, Leiter, now 33, has been great for the Cubs over the past few years. Mark Leiter's son and Al Leiter's nephew, the younger Mark made it to the big leagues by 2017 but didn’t impress in his first tastes of the show. By the end of 2018, he had a 5.53 earned run average in 114 big league innings. He then required Tommy John surgery early in 2019 and was on the shelf for an extended period of time. He signed a minor league deal with the Tigers in 2021 but didn’t get a call to the show.
A minor league deal with the Cubs going into 2022 turned into the opportunity he needed. He was selected to the big league roster by mid-April that year and eventually tossed 65 2/3 innings for the Cubs with a 3.99 ERA. He struck out 25.9% of batters faced while giving out walks at an 8.9% clip and kept the ball on the ground at a 48.9% rate.
Despite that generally strong work, he was nudged off the club’s roster in January 2023. He had exhausted his final option year, so the Cubs designated him for assignment, with all 29 clubs passing on the chance to grab him off waivers. He elected free agency but re-signed with the Cubs on a minor league deal before the next season.
He was added back to the roster for Opening Day and has been a key part of the Chicago bullpen since then. Since the start of 2023, he has a 3.75 ERA in 100 2/3 innings. His strikeout rate has increased to 30.9%, while he still has decent walk and ground ball rates of 8.8% and 47.1%, respectively.
This year’s 4.21 ERA doesn’t look pretty, but that’s mostly due to a tiny strand rate of 55%, well below the 71.9% league average. Since he’s striking out 34.9% of batters faced and also getting grounders at a 50.6% clip, his 2.11 FIP and 2.42 SIERA suggest he’s been about two runs better than his ERA would have you believe.
The Cubs have been balancing present and future needs at this deadline. Just over a week ago, president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said that the club would prioritize “2025 and beyond” in their transactions. That didn’t necessarily point to a deadline selloff, as the club then went out and acquired Isaac Paredes from the Rays and Nate Pearson from the Blue Jays, with both players having multiple years of control.
There were also some rumors that they might make some pitching available, and there’s logic to Leiter's being moved out. Due to his unusual trajectory, Leiter still has a couple of years of club control after this one. But given his age, the Cubs probably didn’t consider him a core piece of their future-focused agenda and made him available.
Those circumstances are likely also why the win-now Yankees wanted to get him. He only just qualified for arbitration for the first time coming into this season and is making $1.5M, not much above this year’s $740K league minimum. The Yankees are slated to pay the competitive balance tax for a third straight year and finish well above the top tier. That means they face a 110% tax rate for any new spending, so Leiter’s minimal salary fits in nicely for them, and they can keep him around for two more years beyond this one.
While Leiter is cheap in dollars, the Yankees have paid the price of two prospects to get him. Neely, 24, was an 11th-round pick in the 2021 draft. He’s been exclusively a reliever in his professional career, racking up significant strikeout totals. In 160 1/3 minor league innings overall, he has a 2.75 ERA, 38.8% strikeout rate and 9.4% walk rate. That includes 41 2/3 innings this year between Double-A and Triple-A with a 2.81 ERA, 36% strikeout rate and 9.1% walk rate. Baseball America lists him as the No. 20 prospect in the Yankees’ system.
Cowles, 24, was a 10th-round pick in 2021 and has played in 88 Double-A games this year. His .294/.376/.472 batting line leads to a strong 141 wRC+, indicating that he’s been 41% better than the league average. His .340 batting average on balls in play is high but he’s also got strong walk and strikeout rates of 10.3% and 17.7%, respectively. He also has 14 steals and has lined up at the three infield spots to the left of first base.
Both Neely and Cowles are Rule 5 eligible this winter, so the Yankees would have had to decide whether or not to add them to their 40-man roster. Instead, they have cashed them in for an immediate bullpen upgrade, meaning those decisions will now transfer to Chicago.
Rob Zamparelli first reported on X that Leiter was headed to the Yankees. Jeff Passan and Kiley McDaniel of ESPN relayed the full trade on X.
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The Seattle Mariners have been heavily linked to Arizona Diamondbacks' third baseman Eugenio Suarez as the trade deadline comes up on July 31. Suarez, 34, is putting together a sensational season season for Arizona, and his 36 home runs trail only Shohei Ohtani in the National League. His 86 RBIs lead baseball entering play on Thursday. He would be a major upgrade to the Mariners lineup, and it would reunite him in the clubhouse, where he played for the M's in 2022 and 2023. As for what it will cost the M's to get Suarez? That's a bit of a guessing game, but the M's do have several interesting pieces to offer the D-backs. Seattle has eight top 100 prospects, and a few intriguing young big-leaguers like Logan Evans. However, former executive Jim Bowden of The Athletic wants the Mariners to make a wild trade for Suarez, as he wrote on Thursday: A package highlighted by middle infielder Michael Arroyo and right-hander Ryan Sloan could be enough to get a deal done. Arroyo, 20, has reached base at a .417 clip this season between High A and Double A. He has 17 homers and 49 RBIs. A second-round pick in 2024, Sloan has a 3.43 ERA over 15 starts this season at Low A. The 19-year-old has logged a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 5.82. Arroyo is currently ranked as the No. 60 prospect in baseball, per MLB Pipeline, and Sloan is ranked No. 61. While the Diamondbacks can ask for that package, it certainly doesn't seem likely. For comparison, the Mariners acquired Luis Castillo at the 2022 trade deadline. That did cost them two Top-100 prospects (Edwin Arroyo and Noelvi Marte), but Castillo was younger, a pitcher, and under control for 1.5 more years. I just can't see the M's making a deal like this for a player five years older who is a rental. Mariners fans couldn't believe it, either: Per @HairlineSports on social media: I’m not even a SEA fan and the package you have them giving up is about 5x more than any other team (Jaxon) wiggins for Geno is enough but Ms have to add BOTH Arroyo and Sloan LOL Sloan might be SP1 for prospects a year from now From Travis Olson: What the hell are you talking about. So you have the mariners giving up two prospects in the top 79 in baseball. Meanwhile the Yankees give up no top 100 prospects. Come on. East coast bias much.
The Green Bay Packers have a logjam at wide receiver. Adding rookies Matthew Golden and Savion Williams to quarterback Jordan Love’s arsenal infuses a big-play element to head coach Matt LaFleur’s offense, while Mecole Hardman is a veteran presence at an otherwise young position group with untapped potential but limited big-game experience. As the 2025 regular season approaches, the Packers might be a popular phone call for general managers of teams aiming to bolster their receiving corps and upgrade the offense. Could Packers’ Romeo Doubs be a Top Trade Candidate? With training camp underway, Romeo Doubs sits atop the depth chart but could quickly be pushed by Golden for the top spot. In addition to Hardman, Golden, Williams, and Doubs, playmakers like Dontayvion Wicks and Jayden Reed will also be pushing for snaps and a consistent role in the passing game. According to Pro Football Focus NFL analyst Bradley Locker, the competition and infusion of talent at receiver could make Doubs one of the top trade candidates across the NFL. “Since being taken in the fourth round in 2022,” Locker writes for PFF. “Doubs has become a solid option for Green Bay. Last season, he turned in a 71.0 PFF receiving grade with 1.62 yards per route run. However, his drop rate has sat above 9% in two of his three seasons, and health has also been an issue, with Doubs logging less than 700 snaps in two of three campaigns. “Golden figures to be Jordan Love’s WR1, especially with Christian Watson sidelined yet again. Green Bay also added rookie Savion Williams to the mix, which suggests that the team wasn’t satisfied with its receiver play from a year ago. Will the Packers finally move on from one of Doubs, Jayden Reed or Dontayvion Wicks, each of whom has shown flashes but not developed in full? The most likely would figure to be Doubs, who is effectively playing on a one-year deal in 2025.” If Golden makes the immediate leap and flashes like a No. 1 wide receiver, GM Brian Gutekunst and the Packers could bit sitting on one of the most coveted receivers for contending teams aiming to fill a need. Doubs has caught 147 passes for 1,700 yards and 15 touchdowns through his first three seasons as one of Love’s top targets. If he’s supplanted by Golden, his next catch may come from elsewhere.
It’s wild how quickly the NBA narrative can flip. A year ago, Zion Williamson was in every trade rumor possible. People were questioning his health, his work ethic, even his future in New Orleans. And the Pelicans? They didn’t really deny any of it. It felt like both sides were one step away from walking. But things have shifted this offseason — quietly, but clearly. The Pelicans could’ve pulled the plug. Zion’s contract gave them outs, and the trade market might’ve still brought back some real value. Instead, they stuck with him. And based on what one of their own just said, they’re not just keeping him around — they’re still betting big on him. In a recent interview with Spotrac’s Keith Smith, an anonymous Pelicans executive made it crystal clear. “Zion is still our guy. We’re all in on him. We think he’s going to have a huge year. We’ve had some bad injury luck and some things that just haven’t worked out. This partnership hasn’t even come close to reaching our best yet.” That’s not something you say if you’re halfway in. They backed it up with their offseason moves, too. They traded CJ McCollum and brought in Jordan Poole, a high-usage creator who can take pressure off Zion. They drafted Jeremiah Fears with the No. 7 pick, a dynamic young guard. They added Kevon Looney, a reliable veteran who brings playoff experience and toughness. Those aren’t tear-it-down moves — those are “let’s try this another way” moves. Of course, Zion’s health is still the question. That never really goes away. He played just 30 games last season, but in those games he looked solid: 24.6 points, 7.2 rebounds and 5.3 assists per night on 56.7 percent shooting. The explosiveness was there. The playmaking was sharp. And the hope for New Orleans is that this time, he can finally sustain it. What’s interesting is how the front office is trying to create a better environment around him. Joe Dumars has stepped in to lead basketball operations and is reportedly building a closer relationship with Zion — dinners, real conversations, not just surface-level stuff. It feels like, for once, the team is trying to meet him halfway. It’s a risk, sure. But it’s a calculated one. The West is brutal and the margin for error is thin. Still, if Zion can stay healthy for 60 games, and if Poole finds a rhythm and guys like Trey Murphy and Herb Jones keep improving — this team has a shot to be in the mix. The quote from the exec says it all. They could’ve hit reset, moved on, cleaned house. But they didn’t. They’re still in. And now it’s on Zion to hold up his end of the deal. After everything that’s happened, they’re telling the world they still believe. Now it’s time to find out if they’re right.
MLB's midseason break was kind to Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter and starting pitcher Shohei Ohtani. On Wednesday, the three-time MVP tied a Dodgers franchise record with a home run in his fifth consecutive game, taking Minnesota Twins right-handed starting pitcher Chris Paddack 441 feet to centerfield on an 0-2 79 mph curveball in the bottom of the first inning. Ohtani entered the All-Star break with 32 home runs but had just two in his 12 previous games before beginning his current streak. He's appeared in 101 of L.A.'s 103 games, putting him on pace for 159 games this season. If Ohtani continues at his home run trajectory, he'll set a personal record for single-season home runs, breaking the record he established last season, his first with the Dodgers. Per ESPN Bet, Ohtani (-1800) is an overwhelming favorite to be named NL MVP for the second consecutive season. With every home run hit, his odds of receiving a fourth overall MVP award likely increase. Also helping Ohtani's case is his return to the mound after not pitching a season ago while rehabbing from 2023 surgery. The Dodgers have slowly eased him back, with Ohtani throwing 12 innings in six starts, allowing nine hits and two earned runs with 13 strikeouts. Per Baseball Savant, he ranks in the top six percent in average fastball velocity (97.8 mph), a promising sign as he continues his progression. While the Dodgers keep him on a pitch count, Ohtani didn't need much warming up at the plate following the in-season break to find his swing. Some might argue he's already in postseason form.