right handed Mark Leiter Jr. He opted for free agency, according to his transaction tracker for MLB.com. He had been nominated and nominated by the Cubs the last few days, but he had the right to decline the nomination on the grounds that he had been nominated before in his career.
Leiter, who turned 32 in March, made it to the major leagues in 2017 and 2018 with the Phillies and Blue Jays. He struggled in those seasons and was completely beaten by the Blue Jays after the latter campaign. turned out to be. He then had to undergo a lengthy rehabilitation process, but no service time occurred.
The Cubs signed him to a minor league deal prior to the 2022 campaign, and he ended up having a pretty decent season after cracking the roster in April. In the big leagues he pitched 67 2/3 innings and his ERA was 3.99. Of the hitters he came to bat, he struck out 25.9% of the time, walked 8.9%, and grounded out 48.9% of the balls.
Despite these good results, he was left out of the roster, likely due to the fact that he burned out his last option year in 2022. Dropped out early. Every player with a full previous career has the right to refuse a full assignment in favor of free agency, and Leiter currently does. The other 29 teams were unwilling to release him from waivers. But at least now he can seek out an organization that he thinks will give him the best route back to the big leagues, or be the best fit for other reasons. If he does get a roster spot at some point, he could be retained by the club for future seasons due to his MLB service time of two to three years.
