The Chicago Cubs have made a few key acquisitions in the lead-up to the MLB trade deadline, but now they’ve made a move sending a pitcher to the New York Yankees as Mark Leiter Jr. will head to the Big Apple.
According to Jeff Passan and Kiley McDaniel of ESPN, the Cubs are sending Leiter to the Yankees in exchange for a pair of prospects.
Those prospects, according to the report, are infielder Ben Cowles and reliever Jack Neely.
Leiter has turned his season around after a brief stint on the injured list. He hasn’t allowed a run in his last seven appearances, striking out 14 of the 23 batters he has faced during that time. He now has a 2-4 record on the season, with two saves and a 4.21 ERA.
Cowles is currently playing for the Yankees’ Double-A affiliate in Somerset, with nine home runs, 51 RBI’s and 14 stolen bases in 326 at-bats. He’s slashing .295/.376/.472 on the season.
Neely was recently promoted to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, with a 3.38 ERA and a 1-1 record in nine games. He has a 3.02 ERA in 31 minor league appearances this season, with 63 strikeouts in 41.2 innings of work.
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Leiter may not be the only Cubs player on the move Tuesday, with the MLB trade deadline arriving in the early evening.
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