December 17: The A’s have officially announced that they have signed Leiter.
December 11: The Athletics have reportedly reached an agreement with the right-hander Mark Leiter Jr. one year, $2.85MM contract. The signing is pending physical. Leiter is a client of VC Sports Group.
Leiter, 35 in March, made his major league debut back in 2017 but didn’t fully establish himself at the major league level until he joined the Cubs in 2022. He worked as a shortstop and long reliever in Chicago that year, with a 3.99 ERA in 67 2/3 innings in that role, but moved into a temporary 20/3 relief role. career innings for the Cubs over the next two seasons, Leiter pitched to a 3.75 ERA with a 3.12 FIP while striking out 30.9% of his opponents and walking 8.8%.
Those impressive traits were enough to convince the Yankees to trade the right-hander at the 2024 trade deadline, but he struggled in New York as his bullpen numbers remained solid. In 70 innings of work for the Yankees over parts of two seasons with the club, Leiter posted a 4.89 ERA despite a 4.07 FIP. In 2025, Leiter struck out 24.7% against a 7.8% walk rate while producing grounders on 45.5% of his batted balls allowed. Unfortunately for the righty, the results weren’t enough for the Yankees to offer him a contract last month, and he ended up reaching free agency a year earlier than expected.
Looking at 2026, the A’s can expect Leiter to be a solid middle relief arm at the very least. His 4.15 ERA over the past four seasons is right in the league (100th) in ERA+, and the right-handed pitcher’s impressive splitter makes him more effective against left-handed hitters. In 104 2/3 innings of work against lefties over the past three years, Leiter has posted a 2.49 ERA and 2.57 FIP with a 32.1% strikeout rate. With league-average results and elite numbers against the rest, Leiter has a much higher floor than the average relief arm that can be tendered, which is why he was able to provide a solid guarantee even after a rough start to the year in New York.
Leiter hasn’t been able to play up to his limits throughout his career, but if he does he could prove to be a key man for the A’s this year. The righty’s 3.13 SIERA over the past three seasons ranks 13th among pitchers with at least 150 innings since the start of the 2023 season, and that puts him on the same level as late draft arms like Luke Weaver. Leiter’s .359 BABIP and 66.5% slugging percentage over the past two years reflect his poor luck when it comes to batted balls and follow-ups; if those numbers drop enough to get within the established league average range, it’s a good bet for Leiter to make an impact in the back of the A’s bullpen next year.
It’s been a quiet season for the A’s so far, although there are some reasons to be optimistic about the team’s future. Nick Kurtz has emerged as a potential superstar this year, and is backed by a core of exciting positional talent such as Brent Rooker, Shea Langeliers, Jacob Wilsonagain Lawrence Butler. The club’s staff needs a lot of work if the team is to compete in 2026, but they add Leiter to a stable that already has some decent arms like Hogan Harris again Michael Kelly it should be a small step towards achieving that goal. Jeffrey Springs again Luis Severino stay in the fold as a solid veteran running back, though it remains to be seen how much ownership the A’s are willing to use to expand that group. Whether the A’s are facing major budget issues or not, bringing Leiter into the fold as a potential reliever late in a related deal would be a good thing for the club.
Robbie Hyde of Foul Territory first reported the deal. Janie McCauley of the Associated Press reported $2.85MM confirmation, after ESPN’s Jesse Rogers first noted it would be closer to $3MM.
