Could this former Yankees reliever be the piece the Guardians need in their bullpen?

For 1 1/2 seasons, Mark Leiter Jr. was a quiet contributor in the New York Yankees bullpen. While he didn’t get the same kind of attention as high-leverage arms like Luke Weaver and Devin Williams, he ended up logging 80 appearances during his time in the Bronx. 

That time came to an unceremonious end last week when the Yankees elected not to tender him a contract ahead of the Nov. 21 deadline. Now Leiter is free to sign with any team in free agency, and the Guardians stand out as a solid option for the 34-year-old. 

Mark Leiter Jr. could be the perfect buy-low signing for the Guardians 

While Leiter’s 4.84 ERA last year is a bit unsightly, there’s more to the story. He posted a 2.70 ERA through April but struggled throughout the rest of the year, which could be due in part to a left fibular head stress fracture he suffered in July. 

He finished the year with an expected ERA of 3.72 and a Fip of 3.55, so he also suffered from some bad luck. He also finished the year in the 94th percentile in hard-hit rate (33.3%), the 92nd percentile in average exit velocity (87.2 miles per hour) and the 88th percentile in barrel rate (5.6%). 

But his struggles ended up being too much for the Yankees, who non-tendered him instead of inking him to a contract for 2026 (he was projected to make $3.3 million, per MLB Trade Rumors). 

But that doesn’t mean that he wouldn’t be a good fit with the Guardians, especially since he wouldn’t need to be a high-leverage arm. 

The Guardians already have Cade Smith, Hunter Gaddis and Erik Sabrowski as high-leverage arms, but Leiter would be an obvious fit to slide into a middle-leverage role next to Mett Festa and Andrew Walters. 

That said, Leiter has some strong reverse split numbers, as left-handers have posted a .680 OPS against Leiter (who is right-handed) compared to a .823 OPS from right-handed hitters.  He has a 4.60 ERA in 352 1/3 innings with the Phillies, Blue Jays, Cubs and Yankees and allowed just one run over 5 1/3 innings for the Yankees across New York’s World Series run in 2024. 

Last offseason the Guardians’ big offseason addition to the bullpen came in the form of a $7 million contract to Paul Sewald that turned into an abject disaster. Adding Leiter would be a solid buy-low option that could have all the upside of Sewald’s signing without the same kind of financial risk. 

Cleveland would likely be able to sign him to a contract a bit lower than his projected $3.3 million salary, but even getting him at that price would be a bit of a discount given his MLB track record.

While the loss of Emmanuel Clase still stings, the Guardians don’t need to make a ton of drastic moves to fix their bullpen due to the presence of Smith and Gaddis, but Leiter would be the perfect complimentary piece.