Athletics sign Mark Leiter Jr.

Mark Leiter Jr. (YouTube)

The Athletics have signed right handed relief pitcher Mark Leiter Jr. of Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The terms of the contract are one year and worth $2.85 million according to Spotrac. 

The Athletics, which currently play in Sacramento, and are set to play in Las Vegas in the 2028 Major League Baseball regular season, will be Leiter Jr.’s fifth MLB franchise. He has previously played two seasons with the Philadelphia Phillies (2017 and 2018), one season with the Toronto Blue Jays (2018), three seasons with the Chicago Cubs (2022 to 2024), and two seasons with the New York Yankees (2024 and 2025).

It is interesting that Leiter Jr. did not play in the Major Leagues for three full seasons. In 2019, he did not pitch for the Blue Jays because of Tommy John Surgery. Then in 2020, Leiter Jr. signed a minor league contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks. However, he never played in the minor leagues because the minor league season was cancelled due to coronavirus. Then in 2021, Leiter Jr. played in the minor league system of the Detroit Tigers.

In 59 games this past season for the Yankees, Leiter Jr. had a record of six wins and seven losses with an earned run average of 4.84. During 48 1/3 innings pitched, he had two saves, 14 holds, 54 strikeouts, and gave up 57 hits, 26 earned runs, and a WHIP (walks and hits per innings pitched) of 1.53. Leiter Jr.’s first save came in a 4-3 Yankees win over the Detroit Tigers on April 9. Leiter Jr.’s second save came in a 1-0 Yankees win over the Los Angeles Angels on May 28. Both games went into 10 innings. Mark Leiter Jr.’s uncle Al won a World Series with the Blue Jays in 2003 and another World Series with the Florida Marlins in 1997.