CINCINNATI — The Chicago Cubs bullpen ultimately didn’t get much of a makeover by the time Tuesday’s trade deadline arrived.
The Cubs moved only one reliever before 5 p.m., and it was arguably their most reliable this season. They traded right-hander Mark Leiter Jr. to the New York Yankees and received two minor-leaguers in return: right-hander Jack Neely and infielder Ben Cowles. Both players will be eligible for the Rule 5 draft in December if not added to the 40-man roster.
President of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said it was a difficult decision to trade Leiter.
“It was fun for us to watch Mark develop into a steady big-leaguer with us,” Hoyer said.
Neely reached Triple A in June for the first time in his career. The 24-year-old had a 3.38 ERA in nine games out of the bullpen. He has posted big strikeout numbers during his professional career, averaging 14.3 per nine innings.
Neely will join Triple-A Iowa and could be an option to help the Cubs at some point this year.
Cowles, 24, has shown great on-base skills while playing second base, shortstop and third base at Double A. In 88 games this year, Cowles has a .295/.376/.472 slash line with 25 doubles, three triples, nine home runs and 51 RBIs.
Hoyer said Cowles probably will miss the rest of the season after getting hit on his right wrist a couple of days ago.
“We really like the profile,” Hoyer said. “He’s had really good offensive success in the minor leagues. He’s done everything well — run the bases well, played good defense in the infield, just had a really good year in Double A. … Certainly what he had done so far in Double A for them was really impressive.”
Leiter, 33, has been lights out after returning from the injured list earlier this month. In seven appearances since then, he hasn’t allowed a baserunner in 7 2/3 innings while striking out 14 of 23 batters.
In three seasons with the Cubs, Leiter became a weapon against left-handed hitters because of his nasty splitter and worked his way to become a trusted high-leverage arm in the bullpen. He owned a 3.85 ERA and a 111 ERA+ in 143 appearances with the Cubs.
The Yankees had coveted Leiter since last year, though the Cubs ultimately decided not to sell at the 2023 deadline after a July surge up the standings. Now the Yankees have landed their targeted reliever, and Leiter won’t be a free agent until after the 2026 season.
