Yankees, Mark Leiter Jr.cantreach deal with arbitration looming
The Yankees went 4-for-5 in striking deals with arbitration-eligible players before Thursday’s deadline.Devin Williams, Jazz Chisholm Jr., Clarke Schmidt and Scott Effross settled with the Yankees, the team announced, while Mark Leiter Jr.represented the one whiff.
The righty reliever and the club were unable to come to terms on a pact, the two now facing a potential arbitration hearing that players and teams do not enjoy.Leiter and the Yankees still can negotiate for a few weeks before a hearing.If still unable to agree on a contract, the case would be heard by a panel that would choose either the player’s proposed salary figure or the team’s.
Leiter has filed at $2.5 million and the Yankees at $2.05 million, according to The Post’s Jon Heyman.The Yankees have not participated in an arbitration hearing since 2017, when they beat Dellin Betances before team president Randy Levine publicly ripped Betances’ representatives.They have come close to other hearings recently, including settling with Aaron Judge hours before arbitrators were set to hear his case in 2022.Leiter struggled after joining the Yankees in a midseason trade with the Cubs.
The righty finished with a combined 4.50 ERA in 58 innings, hurt by home runs but displaying quality stuff that consistently missed bats, before stepping up in the postseason (one run in 5 ¹/₃ innings).The 33-year-old is in his second year of arbitration, having settled with Chicago at $1.5 million a year ago.He is under team control through the 2026 season.The Yankees settled with Williams ($8.6 million), Chisholm (reported $5.85 million), Schmidt (reported $3.6 million) and Effross (reported $800,000).Williams, who was imported from the Brewers last month, had a belated start to his 2024 season because of stress fractures in his back, but he was his usual dominant self in returning and allowing three earned runs in 21 ²/₃ innings.
The 30-year-old will be a free agent after the upcoming season.Chisholm, in his...