The Yankees announced that they have acquired right-hander Mark Leiter Jr. from the Cubs. In return, the Cubs will receive infielder Ben Cowles and right-hander Jack Neely. The Yankees had two open 40-man spots and jump to 39, while the Cubs drop down to 38.
Leiter, now 33, has been great for the Cubs over the past few years after a late-bloomer trajectory. The son of Mark Leiter and nephew of Al Leiter, the younger Mark made it to the big leagues by 2017 but didn’t impress in his first tastes of the show. By the end of 2018, he had a 5.53 earned run average in 114 big league innings. He then required Tommy John surgery early in 2019 and was on the shelf for an extended period of time. He signed a minor league deal with the Tigers in 2021 but didn’t get a call to the show.
A minor league deal with the Cubs going into 2022 turned into the opportunity he needed. He was selected to the big league roster by mid-April that year and eventually tossed 65 2/3 innings for the Cubs with a 3.99 ERA. He struck out 25.9% of batters faced while giving out walks at an 8.9% clip and kept the ball on the ground at a 48.9% rate.
Despite that generally strong work, he was nudged off the club’s roster in January of 2023. He had exhausted his final option year and so the Cubs designated him for assignment, with all 29 clubs passing on the chance to grab him off waivers. He elected free agency but re-signed with the Cubs on a minor league deal prior to the next season.
He was added back to the roster for Opening Day and has been a key part of the Chicago bullpen since then. Going back to the start of 2023, he has a 3.75 ERA in 100 2/3 innings. His strikeout rate is up to 30.9% in that time while he still has decent walk and ground ball rates of 8.8% and 47.1% respectively.
This year’s 4.21 ERA doesn’t look pretty but that’s mostly due to a tiny strand rate of 55%, well below the 71.9% league average. Since he’s striking out 34.9% of batters faced and also getting grounders at a 50.6% clip, his 2.11 FIP and 2.42 SIERA suggest he’s been about two runs better than his ERA would have you believe.
The Cubs have been balancing present and future needs at this deadline. Just over a week ago, president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said that the club would be prioritizing “2025 and beyond” in their transactions. That didn’t necessarily point to a deadline selloff, as the club then went out and acquired Isaac Paredes from the Rays and Nate Pearson from the Blue Jays, with both of those players having multiple years of control.
But there were also some rumors that they might make some pitching available and there’s a logic to Leiter being moved out. Due to his unusual trajectory, Leiter still has a couple of years of club control remaining after this one. But given his age, the Cubs probably didn’t consider him a core piece of their future-focused agenda and made him available.
Those circumstances are likely also why the win-now Yankees wanted to get him. He only just qualified for arbitration for the first time coming into this season and is making $1.5MM, not much above this year’s $740K league minimum. The Yankees are slated to pay the competitive balance tax for a third straight year and finish well above the top tier. That means they face a 110% tax rate for any new spending, so Leiter’s minimal salary fits in nicely for them, and they can keep him around for two more years beyond this one.
While Leiter is cheap in terms of dollars, the Yankees have paid the price of two prospects to get him. Neely, 24, was an 11th-round pick in the 2021 draft. He’s been exclusively a reliever in his professional career, racking up significant strikeout totals. In 160 1/3 minor league innings overall, he has a 2.75 ERA, 38.8% strikeout rate and 9.4% walk rate. That includes 41 2/3 innings this year between Double-A and Triple-A with a 2.81 ERA, 36% strikeout rate and 9.1% walk rate. Baseball America currently lists him as the #20 prospect in the Yankees’ system.
Cowles, 24, was a 10th-round pick in 2021 and has played in 88 Double-A games this year. His .294/.376/.472 batting line leads to a strong 141 wRC+, indicating he’s been 41% better than league average. His .340 batting average on balls in play is high but he’s also got strong walk and strikeout rates of 10.3% and 17.7%, respectively. He also has 14 steals and has lined up at the three infield spots to the left of first base.
Both Neely and Cowles are Rule 5 eligible this winter, so the Yankees would have been facing a decision about whether or not to add them to their 40-man roster. Instead, they have cashed them in for an immediate bullpen upgrade, meaning those decisions will now transfer to Chicago.
Rob Zamparelli first reported on X that Leiter was headed to the Yankees. Jeff Passan and Kiley McDaniel of ESPN relayed the full trade on X.
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Mark Leiter, Jr.’s biggest fan right here, apparently.
Look at his numbers. High K, low era. He gets in a funk from time to time but he’s good enough for a solid bullpen arm.
Also cubs have traded away several RPs this week. They gave away a decent pair to Tampa. Idk what they are thinking !
The trade with Tampa filled the hole they’ve had at third for years with a solid, affordable, controllable player that multiplie teams wanted. You don’t get players like that for nothing. It was a smart move by Hoyer.
what low era lmao he has a career era in the 4s as a reliever
Relievers are completely about what have you done lately. Other than a rough patch earlier this year (just before a trip to the injured reserve) Leiter Jr. has been darn, darn good.
He played hurt for two weeks before a short DL stay. He’s great. Was good for both teams before the injury and after the DL he’s light out
I know. Look at all the years of control Leiter jr has. He’s cheap and can get righties and lefties out.
The cubs best bullpen arm and under control until 2027 for cheap. Just stupid. Hoyer makes no sense. It looks like they added a pile of crap for him too.
Did you read about who they got back? Hardly a pile of crap.
Yes, a couple of middling older prospects. There was zero reason to make this trade with the cubs minor league makeup. If Leiter was expensive or a pending free agent this might make sense. Hoyer has bungled this entire year. If he solidified the bullpen and found an actual third baseman in December they aren’t in this position. Leiter is cheap, controllable, and can handle leverage spots. So the hope is Neely might one day be as good as leiter? A guy they controlled for 2 more years. I guess if a Cowles allows them to dfa Mastrobouni there might be some silver lining.
“Older” = “they will be playing in the majors this time next year”. Neely has a chance of being “as good as Leiter” as early as next year.
(both Neely and Cowles were top-30 in the Yankees system)
2 prospects in the high minors, both with well above average stats is pretty far from middling. One capable of becoming a Zobrist type super utility. Solid trade for both teams. What do you think a reliever like Leiter is worth anyway, Domingguez?
be better than this.
What if cashman calls it a day after this, Yankees fans would revolt
If we’re being honest, Yankees fans are already revolting.
Well said
I don’t get that honestly, they acquired a decent outfielder/infielder who is cheap and under control, and a decent middle reliever with strikeout stuff who also comes with years of control. That’s better than most teams will do this deadline. I’m not a Yankees fan, but I think most people would be reasonably happy if their team did that.
Agreed.
Using both primary types of definitions.
Alkle wants the Yankees to go back to the old days of “The Best Team Money Can Buy”. Tabloids loved that. Baseball people didn’t.
If anything, Yankee fans are delighted that the Bombers are now only a half-game out of first after the O’s lost one of their games in hand.
Are the Cubs buyers, sellers or baby bears?
Or in the Twilight Zone?
The answer is yes.
Exactly.
Leiter is more valuable to a win now team than a cubs team retooling in an underperforming step back season. The cubs have the resources to get a comparable or better reliever in the offseason. Relievers are almost never core pieces who can’t be readily replaced, barring the truly elite guys.
I’d call the Cubs season more of a set back season than a step back season
Getting back 2 top 30 prospects for Leiter Jr. was a good deal. 1 AAA pitcher who still makes #20 in the Cubs loaded system is pretty good and the other guy plays 3B and makes #30. Cubs are starting to realize that SS’s just can’t play anywhere like they keep telling us. At least now they have some 3B spread out through the system from ?-Cam Smith to Paredes-MLB. Leiter was a nice piece but the Cubs have plenty of replacements. Glad to see Hoyer sticking to his word. I half expected to see Snell here.
Yankees got the Leiter side of that trade.
And the Cubs got Jack.
Their locker room has been heavy after their poor June and July but this should make things Leiter.
That isn’t Tanner Scott.
I hope Brian & the boys aren’t planning to go out to lunch today because they have A LOT more work to do. Ahahaha!
Why? Of all the moves to make and Cashman goes for this right now?
The Yankees biggest rival is the Yankees.
The article does say “more to come”. Let’s hope that means trades because if this is it, we in trouble.
@Clip and Joe:
Don’t be discouraged by this trade. Leiter usually comes up big in clutch situations. He is a good addition for any team. I really believe you both will come to appreciate him.
Plus he’s a good teammate.
Do you have any perspective to share, on who the Cubs are getting?
Why wouldn’t they? Cashman has been great at snagging relievers with a lot of untapped upside and Blake has been great at spinning them into gold. If they see something in Leiter then I’m all for them picking him up.
Yeah, I just think an upside potential BP arm is pretty low in the list of priorities. Burning prospects, however low they are, seems like a bad move at a time when key moves need to be made. It reminds me of the Gallo trade (and others) where they brought in players with potential, rather than getting needed personnel.
So, if more moves are made, then it’s fine. But too many times Cashman has come up short and the Yankees paid the price for it.
Ignore the era. Look at Leiter’s so/9in. He’s good. His rough patch was mostly due to bad defense at the time and over reliance when we had zero other bullpen options. He’s a good reliever.
Leiter isn’t untapped potential at all. THe Cubs already tapped into it and he’s been great the past 2.5 seasons. He had a bad stretch earlier this year before he went on the injured list, but he’s been the fire fighter the past two years anytime it’s late in the game and there’s a jam to get out of. Good addition for the Yanks.
16: Seeing the Caleb Ferguson trade makes Leiter worth it to me. Plus, you’re right.
The unsung fact in this trade is Leiter Jr. is even more effective against LH bats than RH which makes him valuable in my world anyway. Keep him away from 2 inning stints and he’ll be very valuable to you guys Clipper.
its a good trade, his FIP is 2.22
and yall gave up a 24 year old infielder and some RP prospect
CubsWin it’s not that this is a bad trade. But Leiter isn’t going to get Heart Attack Holmes out of the closer role.
@Joe This trade allows Boone to not give Holmes more than one inning.
Joe it’s a good trade on its own merits and prior stories about the yanks’ plans have suggested that they may add two relievers. That said, I’m not wild about how much it would cost to get a closer who is a significant upgrade of holmes. As stressful as some of his outings have been, he’s a well above average reliever.
He won’t be a closer because he’s actually really good at coming in mid-inning and getting out of jams between K’s and inducing the ground ball. Also, he’s really good at getting LHB batter out as well. He is also good for giving 4+ outs in an outing. He can be very valuable in the postseason. I think this was a good get for the Yankees.
Gil will take over Closer role late August so don’t worry
We can give you Never 123 Nerris if you’d like.
I call him “ Makes Me Nervous Neris”.
So when he’s not giving up line drives in the gaps he’s a good pitcher?
Cubs tired the heck out of Leiter last season, so he has some wear. Would have preferred not to trade him even so…
Yankees need more though, but knowing Cashman he might just pat himself on the pat and call it a day lol
yea we tired our entire 3man bullpen to EXTREME limits, and they collpased in the last weeks
Better be a good return in those two players. Leiter is a cheap reliever and still has 2 more years of control.
I would have rather seen the Yankees just promote Neely than make this trade. I get that Leiter has a strong strikeout rate but this seems like an overpay
Scott Efross trade all over again
If the hype is to be believed, Neely has one of the best sliders in the minors.
Hoyer traded a valuable bullpen arm, he better get something good for a quality and affordable reliever…
Drascoo- Don’t worry if you don’t throw a slider the Cubs will insist you learn one because they’ll be glad to make you throw it. I think Hoyer did a nice job. He didn’t go overboard, He didn’t sacrifice the future , He didn’t add payroll and he solved one position problem at least. In fact the Cubs pretty much addressed the 3B problem from top to bottom. They went from having no 3B to having a 3B now and future ones to boot in one month. Most of the heavy lifting, A C, A Closer, and a decent bench for Counsell will have to be done this off season.
I disagree, the Cubs added one thing that they really needed, a middle of the order bat who can play quality defense at third (of course CC bats him 5th) but aside from that, the Cubs deadline was a complete failure.
Regardless if you think the Cubs needed prospects or not, they had to add prospect capital to make impact trades in the offseason (Miller, Clase). They retained Smyly, Neris, Wisdom and Tauchman who all should have been moved. They didn’t add any international pool money either. It seems while some teams play chess and others play checkers, Hoyer is playing shoots and ladders.
Hoyer has done an amazing job adding talent in trades when he actually makes them but this trade deadline, like last year, was a stumble by a team that doesn’t appear to have a direction.
If nobody was offering more than lame prospects for any of those guys why move them? Might as well keep them until you decide to replace them with our own prospects. I mean yeah those guys can go but who wants them? For free maybe. DFA and at least get Ricketts some tip money back for his investment. I doubt he was offered anything that the Cubs could even use.
Smyly and Neris would have brought back something, Wisdom and Tauchman would have brought back at least some international pool money and that is the whole point.
The Cubs needed to stock pile as much international pool money that they could get in the event Sasaki is posted, they didn’t bother getting any at the trade deadline. Obviously, if Sasaki chooses to go to the MLB, money isn’t his deciding factor but having a large bonus pool plus being able to point to the success Imanaga, Steele, Assad and Brown have had as well as the transition system in place for Japanese players would bode extremely well for the Cubs.
***add Bote to the mix of players who should have been dealt.
Hoyer really has done a nice job in grabbing talent in trades. The moves he made were quality moves but the deadline as a whole was a disappointment.
Not a fan of this at all!! This one is going to bite us in the ass in a year.
well at least it allows for a word game as we acquire a Scrub from the Cubs
I’m not a fan of the Yankees farm, but this would have been a solid return for the Angels’ Luis Garcia.
IMO I would have brought back Houdini. This doesn’t move the needle at all.
Probably turns a piece in a bigger trade to come.
I see a lot of disappointed yankee fans, Leiter is good dont let the ERA fool you, hes been lights out recently. Has a low 2 FIP and high strikeout rate.
So he gives up a couple runs but strikes out the side and doesn’t give up a home run? The almighty FIP. Let’s erase all the meaningless hard hit balls. They don’t matter anymore because it’s always the fielders fault.
The writers on this site are pretty outdated. Constantly talking about FIP and fly ball rate, ignoring the fact that teams are encouraging pitchers to pitch up in the zone to induce fly balls.
I will say this about Leiter though, his era is elevated thanks to a rough stretch. For the most part he’s been very reliable and goes on streaks of absolute dominance. He’s a solid bullpen arm.
Leiter has a nasty Split Finger Pitch that seems to take a toll on his forearm. Every once in awhile if you see him start to get hit it means you’re over using him and you need to back off or even give him 15 days rest. And then he bounces back nicely.
As a Yankees fan, I like it for both teams.
I don’t think you could trust Neely in 2024 whereas Leiter has a proven track record and is having a very strong season (ERA aside).
Cowles is a nice throw-in but the Yankees have an excess of IFs in their system, don’t mind losing him so much.
This is an awful trade. Stop trading with the Cubs as you got fleeced again. Leiter isn’t any better than a guy you find on the waiver wire.
Sure prices are high for Adam, Estevez, Scott, Finnegan etc….but Leiter is nothing but a mediocre journeyman. Two top 30 prospects for him is beyond ridiculous.
Neely was never given a chance. He’s had good results and has plenty of K.
Yankee fans, you’ll be pleasantly surprised. Leiter is good, and in a somewhat unicorn-ish way: he is a lefty who is very tough on lefties. His splitter can be unhittable for them. Cubs fans, Neely is a decent prospect, and you should be glad your FO is finally going for guys with good fastball, after years of pivileging “finesse,” with predictably bad results.
Leiter is a right-hander though but yes tough on lefties w that split
Thanks, yes slip of the pen
A head scratcher indeed – this is a high contact pitcher, and with an error machine at second, an untested third baseman, and a decent first baseman, but rookie, not sure what this thought was. Hopefully the first domino of many
You will be pleasantly surprised by Leiter. He is a lefty who can strike out lefties with his splitter, sometimes with impressive ease. When he is healthy,: he is very good.
Hoyer loves those lottery tickets. Yankee’s 10th and 11th round picks from the 2021 draft. What a joke of a return.
What difference what round they were picked in? Piazza was in round 62. Both of these players could be on the Cubs this year. Neely for sure.
Then why wasn’t he in N Y with the MLB team?
How many other players from round 62 can you name? Piazza was a favor draft pick who they struck gold on, almost like you could say they won the lottery….
Scouting is so different in the 2020’s versus the 1980s, less talent leaks through to later rounds, of course there are the occasional story of this guy or that guy drafted in the 13th round, the reason you hear about it, is because its a big deal. We only have 20 rounds now, Piazza might not of even been drafted in the current system.
Point is very few people drafted past the 5th round ever see MLB action much less become productive players and even less likely as the rounds go on. Usually by the 10th round you’re filling out your minor league rosters, maybe some of those guys will take and the coaching and training will take them to the next step. Mostly likely guys drafted in those late rounds will be out of professional baseball in 5 years.
Regardless of any of that, it is irrelevant when discussing them right now. If you are looking at draft position when determining a player’s current value, you are doing it wrong
Should Corbin Burnes get less money in free agency because he was picked in the 4th round instead of the 1st?
Yeah guess so? This was exactly my words of why I didn’t want them to trade MLJ All he’s worth is “lottery ticket” type prospects. I guess Neely will replace Bigge as that up and coming RP with some heat. I hope Neely proves to be better than Wesneski after the hope he first brought to the cubs.
I dont think Neely has Bigge heat, but hopefully that slider can rack up some Ks. He should be up in Chicago before too long. Why not take a look at how it plays against MLB hitters.
Yeah I’d think he’d be up sooner rather than later. Looking at more, now I see he’s more just around 95 (tops out at 97) with his fastball. Oh well. I really liked the potential of Bigge and his fb. Sounds like Neely’s slider is pretty good and he seems to probably have better control and command than Bigge.
Well between Neely and Little they will have an incredible set of twin towers on the basketball team.
Rangers are not ready to sell or asking too much for Yates and Houdini. I would have taken either one over Leiter
That’s like saying I’d rather have Bobby Wiit Jr. over Jazz Chisolm.
Solid return. Love neeley. Cowles may be a decent infertile in the future
Sad to hear that we won’t be seeing Ben Cowles Jr.
Hm, seems like not a great return for the Cubs?
A guy who could potentially turn into Mark Leiter Jr in a few years, and a depth infielder. Why not just keep Leiter in that case?
You trade him because he brings back more value than he gives you on the roster. Say the Cubs keep him and he pitches lights out in helping the Cubs get to 80 wins and 14 games out. How has he really helped? This isn’t about this year. He’ll be 34 next year, that’s getting into choppy waters for a pitcher. But the two prospects you get back may help you next year and beyond. Leiter won’t get any better at this stage and the team is going no where this season. They can always try to sign him back in the offseason if they think he’ll help in ‘25.
Cubs fans, Neely has really good stuff. Cowled has been a very solid player in AA. I think that is a pretty good return, and I am a Yankee fan.
Leiter has been pretty darn good over the last two years.
I know nothing about the return from the Yankees, but if the Yankees needed bullpen help, Leiter is a plus pick up.
So, who’s the odd man out once Poteet and Hamilton return next month?
Unlike most NYY fans I like this move. Leiter is a solid middle reliever. And call me sentimental, but I dig that like his dad and uncle he gets to play on the team. Welcome, Mark Jr.!
Yankees needed some help and got some.. Not bad just a start?????
Cowles makes sense if the Cubs are planning to move Hoerner.
I don’t get Cubs fans crying about the return here. Leiter has a career 4.53 ERA and a 4.21 this year at 33 years old. What the hell did you expect? You got two solid prospects…..and Neely is ready for the show now!
To just keep him instead of adding a pile of nothing. He’s a good bullpen arm.
look at the peripherals. Leiter is a victim of bad luck.
The Trade Deadline is so fun!!!!
Yankees needed a starter more especially with Gil heading to BP as the innings get higher for him
Clarke Schmidt is roughly 2 weeks away.
The Yankees have a decent 5 even with Gil in the pen to hold his innings down.
Yankees fans-
How is this return? Are the players going back to the Cubs any good?
Neely was #22 on the top 30.
Cowles was #29.
The Yankees system is pretty good, so anyone ranked in the top 30 should be a decent prospect.
I hope there is more to come.
Neely has a 60 grade fastball and a 70 grade slider. If he can harness that stuff, could be a great bullpen arm. I loved Theo for bringing us a WS, but hated the high-ceiling soft-tossers he often went foe. Counsell is like, welcome to 2024. Stop signing the Cuas’s of the world.
This is a move for this season and beyond as Leiter has three more years of control. Clay Holmes will be a free agent. Yankees desperately need a power-arm in their pen. Cowles is 24 and in AA – maybe a future utility player. Neely still needs minor’s work and could be what Leiter, Jr. is now.
Must be a good trade when both teams’ fans are mad, ha.
Leiter has been very solid as a Cub and w future control Im not sure I understand the motivation to move him. I think Counsel wants power arms. Cubs FO loves soft-tossers.
Neris is gonna bring back a haul if that’s what we got for leiter
Neris is a dumpster fire. Always drama with that guy. Rarely does he work a clean inning. My guess is the Cubs offered the Yankees Neris, and the Yankees said no thanks but how about Leiter?
Good bullpen addition. Leiter’s 13K/9 is something the Yankees need, and the 2.11 FIP is more representative of who he is as a pitcher than ERA. A better pickup than Sims on the Red Sox when looking at the peripherals.
For the Cubs, Cowles is more filler, but Neely should be a very solid pickup. I figured the Yankees would call him up if they didn’t make a trade for a reliever. He can step right into the Cubs pen.
Both teams got something here.
The Cubs traded one of their AA middle infielders in the Paredes deal and are likely to promote two more of them to AAA in August. Cowles steps in as AA organizational depth at 2B/SS.
As a confirmed Yankee hater, I still like this trade for them. Their BP has been getting beat up recently.
Not a big deal. Literally or figuratively.
More Cashman mediocre pitching acquisitions.
Waaay better than mediocre with Leiter.
Neely was ready for MLB, not sure why we pulled the trigger on this deal. I guess we’re checking off boxes, now Hal can say we made 2 trades…
I see most missed the Biggest reason Yanks traded Nelly and Cowles. Both of them are Rule 5 eligible this year. Neither was going to make the 40 Man so getting Leiter for them is a Good Get.
They turned a 10th and 11th Round Draft Picks into a MLB quality Reliever. Sounds like something a Good team is supposed to do.
Them being ranked between 20 and 30 of Yankee prospects doesn’t make the Elite.
Finally, someone paying attention… Decent deal for both teams…
Agreed on Cowles, Neely could have been in MLB so he didn’t need “clearing” from the roster.
Every year, Cashman trims the roster of marginal guys who were going to be Rule 5 eligible. And every year, idiots scream about why we are giving away these great prospects for middling major leaguers.
He does a great job of roster trimming, a 6-9 guy with strikeout stuff in AAA, isn’t roster fat.
AL power rankings
1 Baltimore ➡
2 Cleveland ➡
3 Houston ⬆
4 Yankees ⬇
5 Twins ➡
6 Royals ⬆
I don’t see where the pitching staff got any better. Cortez still stinks and their closer is inconsistent
Yankees fans you did better here than you think. Of the 17 earned runs Leiter has given up this year, 10 of them came within only 3 of his 39 appearances. The vast majority of the time you get a stress-free inning. He is one of those guys where you say to yourself, “good, Leiter is coming in.”
Leiters ability to get out lefties is going to be invaluable for the playoffs. Seems like the return was similar to what Cubs paid to get Pearson. Pearson comes w the bigger pedigree but Leiter is the one w more proven success. Considering some of the cost teams are paying I would’ve liked to see a better prospect return for the Cubs.
as long as this is not the only bullpen addition it’s a very solid move. clears up a 40-man crunch and gives us someone who can actually produce k’s when playing manfred-ball
A++++++ to the moon for the Yankees. Imagine trading for a reliever prior to today and seeing what Yankees got one for! Benefit of having an experienced gm. Although Philly has one as well and look what they paid for a rental. #extendCashmanAgain
C for Cubs. Could be a D for not selling sooner or going after more but they got a great reliever prospect that is about mlb ready. Cowles is a fine legit prospect.
Great get for the Cubs here for a solid RP in Leiter. If the Cubs can fade the roster crunch before the Rule 5 they have some legit and very close prospects here. Neely in particular is intriguing, his peripherals suggest he could be a big league closer. Cowley has nice peripherals as well, in particular is K|BB rate.
I don’t think Chicago gets this much for Leiter if not for the 40 man situation in NY. These two surely woulda been plucked in the Rule V draft.
Good trade for both teams, especially if NY makes a deep run.
Again, another trade I didn’t see coming, but, you know, good luck to Mark and I hope the minor leagurers the Cubbies got pan out.
Leiter has been really good for the Cubs. My only issue with him is he occasionally loses feel for his splitter & when that happens, he’s absolutely worthless.