Cubs trade Mark Leiter Jr. to Yankees for prospects |
The Chicago Cubs have traded reliever Mark Leiter Jr. to the New York Yankees in exchange for infielder Ben Cowles and right-handed reliever Jack Neely.
Cowles is a 24-year-old middle infielder who is currently playing for Double-A for the Yankees. He hit .294 with nine homers in 378 at-bats this season and is rated as the Yankees' No. 29 overall prospect. He is a versatile player who can play second base, shortstop, and third base. His 141 wRC+ was the 12th-best mark in all of Double-A this season. He was drafted out of Maryland in the 2021 draft, and he was a college teammate of Cubs standout prospect Matt Shaw. Also, he was teammates with James Triantos and Kevin Alcantara for the Mesa Solar Sox in the Arizona Fall League in 2023. Basically, the Cubs have scouted him and know what they are getting out of Cowles as a prospect. Neely is also 24 years old and is rated No. 20 on Baseball America's top Yankee prospects. He is a 6-8 reliever who throws over 95 MPH and has a nasty slider. He has a 3.38 ERA in nine relief appearances for the Yankees in Triple-A this season. Overall, across Double-A and Triple-A, he had a 2.81 ERA in 31 games, including a 36 percent strikeout rate. Watch for Neely to get a shot with the big league club at some point this season. The Cubs currently have a surplus of arms in the bullpen once they get healthy with Keegan Thompson, Jordan Wicks, Ben Brown, Adbert Alzolay, and others so I understand why they made this move. Leiter had two more years of control via arbitration, so the Cubs must have thought he couldn't keep up his impressive stats this season over the next two years. He is also 33 years old, so that might have been a reason to get younger in the bullpen. In the last 7.2 innings since coming off the IL, he had not given up a run. More to come on this breaking news story. New Cubs infielder Ben Cowles will already be familiar with several of his teammates after playing for the Mesa Solar Sox in the AFL with James Triantos and Kevin Alcantara in 2023. Looked sure-handed playing all around the infield. #Cubs #CubsProspects pic.twitter.com/CgJNXCNCNc The Chicago Cubs have acquired Ben Cowles (2021 10th Rd Pick) and Jack Neely (2021 11th Rd Pick) from the New York Yankees. In return, New York gets right-handed reliever Mark Leiter Jr. Now that the Chicago Cubs have traded Mark Leiter Jr., it will be interesting to see if the Cubs move starter James Taillon or any other relievers today. Thank you for consistently bringing your hard work and dedication to the baseball diamond every day.
Cowles is the 29th ranked prospect in the Yankees system pic.twitter.com/8O9rIjXL78
Good luck in NYC, Mark! pic.twitter.com/A7as5EsyEs
