New York Yankees non-tender former Toronto Blue Jays pitcher, now a free agent

According to MLB.com's Mark Feinsand, the Yankees non-tendered former Blue Jays right-hander Mark Leiter Jr.

Acquired from the Chicago Cubs at last year's deadline, Leiter's 4.46 ERA in 41 appearances left something to be desired but his underlying metrics remained brilliant.

As a Yankee, Leiter's 39% ground ball rate was subpar but his 31.7% strikeout rate was strong and his 8.7% walk rate around average.

But he had a .407 batting average on balls in play and a 26.1% homer to fly ball ratio, both of which are unsustainably high.

His 2.86 SIERA in that stretch suggests that he was far better than his ERA would have you believe in that small sample.

Leiter was removed from the this year's ALDS roster in favor of Luis Gil becoming the victim of the roster crunch, coming off a regular season in which he struggled to provide much consistency out of the bullpen.

This is not new territory for Leiter, who was left off the ALDS and ALCS rosters in October of 2024 before being added during the ALCS as an injury replacement for Ian Hamilton.

Leiter, who'd been projected at $3MM, never clicked in the Bronx after being acquired at the 2024 deadline. He posted a 4.89 ERA in 70 innings as a Yankee.

The Blue Jays claimed Leiter off waivers from the Philadelphia Phillies back in 2018.

Leiter Jr. was designated for assignment by the Phillies when they acquired former Blue Jays star outfielder Jose Bautista from the New York Mets.

While with the Blue Jays, Leiter made eight appearances enroute to a 13.50 ERA, allowing 10 earned runs through 6 2/3 innings of work.

Leiter Jr. is the son of former major-league pitcher Mark Leiter and the nephew of ex-Blue Jays pitcher Al Leiter.