Yankees are seeing trade bust turn into a reliable weapon in the bullpen

At the trade deadline, the New York Yankees struck a deal with the Chicago Cubs to acquire right-handed reliever Mark Leiter Jr. A deal that was supposed to provide the team with a high-leverage weapon, it ended up blowing up in their face as Leiter Jr. posted a 4.98 ERA and 2.49 HR/9 with the Bronx Bombers. He was left off of the postseason roster in the ALDS and ALCS, only joining the team to replace an injured Ian Hamilton after a crushing Game 3 loss. Postseason rules make a player ineligible for reinstatement from injury for that round and the one following, meaning Hamilton had no chance to return.

After some huge outings in the ALCS, he delivered a crucial performance again in Game 4 of the World Series with the Yankees facing elimination, and he's come out of nowhere to become one of Aaron Boone's top weapons.

Mark Leiter Jr. Stepping Up For the Yankees in October

No Yankees fan would trust Mark Leiter Jr. in a postseason setting after the regular season, and yet he's been one of their top arms. While his walk rate is up, his strategy on the mound has allowed him to avoid giving into batters and pick his spots to go after them, getting some big strikeouts and some soft contact in high-leverage situations. After throwing 30% sinkers and struggling to get that pitch by hitters, he's relied heavily on his secondary stuff to avoid damage contact.

His sinker usage is down to 9.9% and his curveball usage has nearly doubled to 32.1%, picking up a 50% Whiff% and also getting plenty of called strikes as well. The pitch that has been most reliable for Mark Leiter Jr. has been the splitter, which has held batters to a .069 wOBA with a 74.1 MPH Exit Velocity. His quality of contact numbers has improved dramatically as a result of throwing his sinker less, and it's allowed the Yankees to bring him in as a way to hold the opposing offense down and give their lineup a chance to punch back.

While walking more batters has resulted in more traffic, a runner on first is better than a ball in the stands. He's suppressing damage contact the way people expected him to when he first arrived onto the scene, and while there's still work to be done for him to earn a spot inside the circle of trust for the Yankees, Mark Leiter Jr. has certainly improved from his standing as a garbage-time reliever who would give up a home run every time he stepped onto the mound.

Confidence is an important part of being a successful reliever; whether it's trusting your best pitch or just having the mindset that you can and will succeed, there's a feel of calmness and conviction in his pitches that didn't exist before. While Shohei Ohtani is limited by a shoulder injury, the ability to get him out on strikes likely turned the tide of the game last night. Had the Dodgers continued to rally in that inning, perhaps they would have gone to their A-tier arms and put the Yankees away for good.

Instead, Mark Leiter Jr. trusted his best pitch, got a massive strikeout, and now the Yankees live to fight again tonight. It's highly improbable that they go on to win the next three games and win the World Series, but you have to win one to mount the comeback. No team has ever forced a Game 6 in the World Series when being down 3-0, but perhaps this series finds itself back in Los Angeles, and Mark Leiter Jr. would be a huge reason why.