Chicago Cubs Trade Their Veteran Reliever to New York Yankees

The Chicago Cubs have made a move, sending a reliever to the New York Yankees.

Jun 13, 2024; St. Petersburg, Florida, USA; Chicago Cubs pitcher Mark Leiter Jr. (38) throws a pitch against the Tampa Bay Rays in the seventh inning at Tropicana Field. / Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports

After buying throughout the past few days, it was expected that the Chicago Cubs were also going to sell a few pieces. They decided to do just that in a trade with the New York Yankees for Mark Leiter Jr., according to Jeff Passan of ESPN. They'll receive Ben Cowles and Jack Neely in return.

Hoyer indicated that he wanted to focus on the future of this team, which Leiter could've been part of. He's arbitration-eligible this offseason and doesn't hit free agency until 2027, but that's also a major factor in why teams around baseball wanted him.

Moving an arm like Leiter makes sense from the Cubs' perspective, as they're seemingly out of the race entering August. Factor in that this has been a strong sellers' market, the reality of trading him to a contending team like the Yankees made even more sense.

He's pitched well this season, but has been better throughout his career, specifically in the past two years. His 4.21 ERA is the highest in the past three seasons, but his 2.10 FIP shows that he should lower that in the near future.

In 36.1 innings pitched, he's struck out an impressive 53 hitters.

Leiter, who now has an opportunity to play for a contending team, should be an excellent addition to a New York bullpen that could use all the help it can get, especially in October.