Cubs Trade Mark Leiter Jr. to Yankees

The Chicago Cubs have traded right-handed relief pitcher Mark Leiter Jr. to the New York Yankees in exchange for two players.

According to ESPN's Jeff Passan the Cubs are receiving infielder Ben Cowles and right-handed reliever Jack Neely.

Cowles, 24, is a right-handed hitting third baseman who has slashed .294/.376/.472 in 88 games at Double-A this season. Meanwhile, Neely is 24-years-old and has recorded a 2.81 ERA in 31 games across Double-A and Triple-A in 2024. The righty has struck out 63 batters in 41.2 innings.

The Yankees are getting Leiter at a great time. The right-handed reliever returned from the injured list on July 9, and since then he's thrown 7.2 perfect innings out of the bullpen. In seven appearances since his IL stint, Leiter has struck out 14 batters, while walking none and not allowing a single hit. The 33-year-old pitcher is under team control through the 2026 season.

Looking at Cowles' numbers at Double-A, he's done a good job of cutting down on the strikeouts, bringing his K% to 17.7% while increasing his BB% to 10.3%. The right-handed hitter has a 141 wRC+, the 12th best mark among all hitters at Double-A this season.

As for Neely, you gotta love his 36% strikeout rate between his time at Double-A and Triple-A so far this season.

Neely is the name to keep an eye on here. The right-hander could be up in the majors as soon as this season and was recently ranked No. 20 in the Yankees farm system according to Baseball America. He's a two-pitch pitcher, attacking hitters with a fastball and slider. Maybe the Cubs can get a bit more velocity out of Neely, but as is he seems like a solid return and then you hope Cowles can continue to develop. Cowles was drafted in 2021 out of college, so a move to Triple-A might be in his near future with the Cubs.