New York Yankees Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

On Tuesday, the New York Yankees made a move to improve their bullpen. They acquired right-handed reliever Mark Leiter Jr. from the Chicago Cubs.

Leiter Jr. is the son of former Major Leaguer Mark Leiter and related to former World Series Champion Al Leiter, of course. Al played for the New York Yankees on two separate occasions.

The Yankees dealt prospects Ben Ben Cowles and Jack Neely, an infielder and right-handed reliever, to the Cubs. ESPN’s Jeff Passan had the news.

Leiter Jr. has improved his swinging-strike percentage every year he’s been in the Majors. That’s a positive sign for the Yankees, who’ve been in need of help in their bullpen lately. Yankees relievers own a 4.11 ERA, which ranks 18th in MLB. New York is trying to reach the World Series for the first time since 2009 this year, and the hope is Leiter Jr. is one of the pieces the team needs to get back on top.

The MLB world buzzed about the big Yankees trade on Tuesday afternoon.

[Jeff Passan]

About Chris Novak

Chris Novak has been talking and writing about sports ever since he can remember. Previously, Novak wrote for and managed sites in the SB Nation network for nearly a decade from 2013-2022