Jack

Neely

Neely is down to make room for Jorge López with López coming off the injured list from his groin strain. Neely has long-term upside, and should be a part of the Chicago bullpen in 2025.

Neely will take the roster spot of Justin Steele with Steele going on the 15-day injured list with elbow tendinitis. Neely has tremendous stuff and has succeeded in the minors, but wasn’t effective in the majors his last go-around with six runs allowed in four innings.

Neely heads back to the minors after allowing six runs over four innings of work in four appearances for the Cubs in his first exposure to the big leagues. The 24-year-old rookie right-hander figures to return at some point in the near future.

Neely, a reliever acquired from the Yankees for Mark Leiter Jr. at the deadline, will be making his major league debut after a great start with Iowa; he had allowed one unearned run and struck out 13 in 6 2/3 innings. Overall, he has a 2.42 ERA and a 76/17 K/BB in 48 1/3 innings between Double- and Triple-A this season.

Neely is a 6-foot-8, 245-pound reliever who has forged a 2.81 ERA and 63/16 K/BB over his 31 appearances and 41 2/3 innings. The right-hander has a slider that gets top-of-the-scales grades along with a plus fastball, and he might have the stuff to be a closer someday.

In the deal, the Yankees will send infielder Ben Cowles and right-handed pitching prospect Jack Neely to Chicago. Leiter Jr. has made 39 appearances for the Cubs, and while his 4.21 ERA isn’t overtly impressive, he has struck out 53 batters against 13 walks over 36 1/3 innings. He’ll be a mid-to-late inning option for the Yankees, and isn’t likely to see many — if any — save chances.

The 6'8" reliever has 56 strikeouts across 35 1/3 innings in Double-A and Triple-A this season and could fill a major need as a swing-and-miss reliever in the Yankees bullpen. The 24-year-old’s performance has certainly been noticed by MLB pitching coach Matt Blake, who said “We’ve had conversations about Jack and how he’s doing. He’s in the mix. Obviously, when he was in Double-A we were a little bit cautious of making a big jump to the major leagues. Getting him to Triple-A was important, and now getting him innings there. I’m sure he will be in the conversation for the second half at some point.” Neely doesn’t figure to make his way onto fantasy radars this season.