The New York Yankees might have just won their series against the Royals in Kansas City, but their Wednesday night performance emphasized some problems that need to be cleaned up within the next month and a half.
Leading 6-0 heading into the ninth inning, two players were responsible for tripping over themselves and nearly blowing the game. If Oswald Peraza and Mark Leiter Jr. can't handle low-leverage situations, then what's the point?
Peraza came on after Jazz Chisholm Jr. left the game in the seventh with a groin injury. He made a nice defensive play on a liner once he took the field, but then came the ninth inning. He allowed the leadoff hitter to reach by failing to call off Leiter Jr. and Austin Wells on an infield pop up. He fell to the ground in what was an unacceptable attempt to make a routine play.
As for Leiter Jr.? He allowed a two-run homer to the very next batter to make it 6-2. Alright. Just get three outs now. Fresh inning.
He got one, but then a weak throw from Peraza (admittedly, on a tough play at third) allowed Nick Loftin to reach on an infield single. Still, though, Peraza has to make one of those plays, and he could've redeemed himself with an impressive one there.
OK, back to Leiter Jr., who made the most egregious error of the night on whatever in WORLD this was. Flashbacks of Leiter Jr. stumbling over his shoelaces, tripping and falling and making an error in the 2024 ALCS. The man can't field his position.
Sloppy play from Leiter makes it 6-3. Williams coming in to clean up the mess pic.twitter.com/83CMr9ix7o
— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) June 12, 2025
Yankees' near-meltdown vs Royals should seal fates of Mark Leiter Jr. and Oswald Peraza
That ridiculousness allowed the third run to score, and then Aaron Boone was forced to use his closer. Just like the night prior with a 10-2 advantage, the Yankees could not shut the door with ease despite the cushiest of leads.
Yankees fans have largely been patient with some tough developments this year, but the reality is this: Peraza has no spot on this roster if he cannot play spotless defense because he's hitting .170 with a 57 OPS+, and Leiter Jr. needs to be one of the last guys in the bullpen or moved off the roster to pave way for somebody else to get a chance. He's not adding anything to the bullpen outside of being an available arm.
The Yankees completely wasted Peraza. His failed development is 100% their fault. But he's gotten ample opportunity this season with the best offense in the league and there are still too many glaring issues. New York may not have the luxury to get rid of Leiter Jr. because of their pitching problems, but he's awful in high-leverage situations and any scenario with runners in scoring position (on top of being unable to play defense). You'd think it's safe to bring him into a 6-0 game, but the stats show he cannot pitch in the ninth inning under any circumstance (he's only successful in the seventh for whatever reason). His stats aren't awful (4.00 ERA, 2.64 FIP, 39 Ks), but his 1.41 WHIP is a major issue. Relegate him to Yerry de los Santos garbage time while you search for better options ahead of the trade deadline. Leiter has been worth -0.2 WAR since coming to the Yankees last year, and it's not going to improve with the right-hander in the middle of his age-34 season. He's simply too hot and cold to be relied upon to get three clean outs.
Call it an exaggeration, but we're just trying to get ahead of the team's needs before the trade deadline.
