How Mark Leiter Jr. Fits onto the A's Pitching Staff
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The A's have now made their first official signing this offseason, as they have brought in former New York Yankees and Chicago Cubs veteran, Mark Leiter Jr. Of course, his last name might sound familiar, as the right-hander is the nephew of 19-year MLB superstar, Al Leiter. He's also a cousin of Rangers' starter and first-round pick, Jack Leiter.
The deal is a one-year major league contract, and Leiter Jr. will join an A's bullpen that was quite hot in the second half of the 2025 season. Last season in the Bronx, he posted a 4.84 ERA and a 1.53 WHIP in 48 1/3 innings pitched.
Although his stats look underwhelming, Leiter Jr. was quite unlucky this past season. His expected ERA is much lower at 3.72, with an expected batting average against of just .235, which is pretty impressive. His other advanced stats are just as impressive, as he sat in the 94th percentile in hard hit percentage, the 92nd percentile in average exit velocity, and the 88th percentile in barrel percentage.
The right-hander was also able to be productive with generating whiffs and picking up strikeouts. He had a 29.1% whiff percentage and a 24.7% strikeout percentage, which are both well above league average.
Leiter Jr. was also notably a groundball pitcher. He was in the 74th percentile among all pitchers at keeping the ball on the ground, which will play nicely in West Sacramento. The team needed more ground balls on the staff, and Leiter Jr. should certainly help do just that.
What will his role be with the A's?
After dealing star closer Mason Miller to the Padres this summer, the team used a closer-by-commitee for the remainder of the 2025 season. Guys like Sean Newcomb, Hogan Harris, Michael Kelly, Jack Perkins, and Elvis Alvarado all came in during closing situations for the team.
Not having an official closer actually worked well in the A's favor. Following the trade deadline, the A's bullpen pitched to a 2.99 ERA, one of the best in baseball during the second half.
Although the A's bullpen seems like it was very good on the backend of 2025, and that they wouldn't need to add anyone, they lost a key arm in the bullpen. Left-hander Sean Newcomb entered free agency and is able to be brought back, but many contenders will likely be interested in Newcomb. The Hartford product posted an amazing 1.75 ERA in 51 1/3 innings with the A's last season.
If the A's want to fill that closer role for 2026, names like Pete Fairbanks and Kenley Jansen are on the market. If they elect not to add any more relievers, Mark Leiter Jr. could be a candidate to be the A's closer this season, especially if he's performing like his expected stats would indicate.
Although Leiter Jr. has just nine career saves, that is actually more career saves than anyone on the current A's roster. Because Leiter Jr. has such good stuff, does a great job at limiting damage, and keeps the ball on the ground, he'll be an option to at least pick up some save opportunities with the green and gold this season.
Really an underrated signing for the A's, as he isn't a super expensive option, but he has experience and upside. This means the A's can now focus their attention and money on their biggest need, which is starting pitching.
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I grew up playing baseball, and also enjoyed watching and writing about my favorite team, the A’s. Being a diehard A’s fan from New Jersey is certainly not common, but I love the team and all of the current and former players so much. I currently attend school at Penn State Scranton where I get the opportunity to play college baseball.
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