http://florida.marlins.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/...t=.jsp&c_id=fla

PHILADELPHIA -- Al Leiter is returning to the New York area.

MLB.com has been told the Florida Marlins and the New York Yankees have reached agreement on a deal to be announced Saturday that would send Leiter to the Yankees for a player to be named.

 

Leiter, 39, was designated for assignment by the Marlins on Thursday. The team had 10 days to release or trade the left-hander, who was 3-7, 6.64 ERA this year as a starter and reliever.

 

Leiter signed a one-year, $8 million contract with the Marlins. The Yankees are believed to be picking up part of his salary, but the Marlins will be responsible for the bulk of his contract.

 

The Yankees are desperate for starting pitching. Injuries to Chien-Ming Wang, Carl Pavano, Kevin Brown and Jaret Wright have decimated the rotation, and recent obtainees Tim Redding and Darrell May have been ineffective.

 

When asked before Friday's game in Boston about the possibility of obtaining Leiter, Yankees manager Joe Torre alluded to Leiter having pitched for both the Yankees and Mets previously, saying, "He certainly is an experienced guy. One thing about our ballclub, when you look at the pitching, the New York experience factor usually carries a little weight."

 

Leiter was expected to provide leadership to a relatively young Marlins rotation while offering big-game experience.

 

"I truly expected more success in my return to the Florida Marlins," Leiter said in a statement released by the Marlins late Thursday. "To say I'm disappointed with my performance is vastly understated. I understand the organization needed to do what they had to do. It's a very good team with expectations to win. It's just unfortunate it didn't work out for me."

 

"He's a real pro and a good guy," manager Jack McKeon said. "He feels probably as bad as anybody. He's an all-around class guy, and I think we all hate to see him go."

 

While Leiter provided insights to a talented staff that includes Dontrelle Willis, Josh Beckett and A.J. Burnett, the veteran left-hander never got into a pitching groove. From the beginning of Spring Training, through 17 games with the Marlins (including 16 starts), Leiter lacked consistency.

 

After suffering a loss to the Cubs on Sunday at Dolphins Stadium, Leiter's record fell to 3-7 while his ERA rose to 6.64. Falling behind batters was a constant problem, as evident by the fact Leiter walked 60 batters in 80 innings, while giving up 88 hits.

 

Cutting ties with a savvy veteran was a difficult task for the Marlins, who were anticipating big things from a consistent winner. Leiter had a string of winning at least 10 games in 10 straight seasons, including a 10-8 record and 3.21 ERA for the Mets last year.

 

Sunday's setback started the process of the front office examining what to do with Leiter. On Wednesday, general manager Admin Beinfest notified Leiter that he wanted to meet with the veteran left-hander. Leiter was with his family. Last Friday, Lori Leiter gave birth to the couple's fourth child, a girl.

 

While informed of the team's decision on the phone, Leiter met later in the day Wednesday with Beinfest at a restaurant near his Weston home.

 

"We spent a good amount of time together, talking about everything," Beinfest said. "We talked about the disappointment and how things went. Everybody wished it would have went better."

 

A respected veteran with a lifetime 158-127 record, Leiter played a crucial role in the Marlins winning the World Series in 1997. On May 11, 1996, he tossed the first no-hitter in Marlins history, blanking the Rockies, 11-0.

 

But this season, his bread-and-butter pitch, his cut fastball, wasn't finding the mark. While Leiter continued to say he felt fine physically, scouts noted that his pitches would flatten out, and he wasn't as deceptive as he had been.

 

Joe Frisaro is a reporter for MLB.com. Reporter Mark Feinsand contributed to this article. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Desperate is an understatement :lol .

Wow.

I called this.....don't deny me my due for this.

Wow is right... Its great we're getting something, even though its probably not much.

If we could trade him for a box of batting practice baseballs, it would be a steal. And not even a new box of practice baseballs, I'm talking middle of the road batting practice baseballs.

gl Al

Yankees pwned twice in two days...17-1 loss and this s***ty, horrible, retarded trade.

 

And I love it.

Suckers. :shifty

If we get anything more than one of those fashion-type NY Yankees hats, I'm happy.

who do you think we will get back from the stanks? and on the bright side, last time i remember a trade with them we got mikey...and he was pretty good until this year

Yankees pwned twice in two days...17-1 loss and this s***ty, horrible, retarded trade.

 

And I love it.

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Sunday's game is gonna be fun to watch.

Watch him pitch amazing for them.

Watch him pitch amazing for them.

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Mark Wiley >>>>>> Mel Stottlemyre

Best wishes to Al -- hope he turns his season around (but not the Yankees'...)

I like Al alot, but if the Yankees even give 500k to the Fish for him, along with a PTNBL, the Marlins have to do it.

I'd take a paperclip and some pocket lint, but if they want to give us MONEY (however negligible), and a living breathing ball player (even if he plays in the convalescent league) it's a no brainer.

 

As a side, I would have liked nothing better than for Al to have had a decent year with us. We could have sent him off into retirement properly, showing him how much he has meant to our club and how much the fans respect him.

Odds are that's what you're getting from the Yankees - Nothing. A 25 year old A ball player, so it's not much more than a pack of bubble gum. Considering you're paying probably 7 of the 8 million it works out for both sides. I'd rather take my chances with the 5 inning wonder than Darrel May or Sean Henn - Im sure you'll all agree.

its nto that bad for the yankees, they dont have a good minor league system anyway, and the marlins r taking the bulk of his contract, its better for him to start for the yankees than another minorleaguer

Watch him go 5-1.

Good luck Al, I hope you turn your season around.

Best of luck to him, I really hope he does well and goes out with a bang in NY instead of a sputter here in FL.

ANYONE BUT THE $$!

Bye, Al. Sorry it didn't work out. You're still a good guy in my book.

Watch him pitch amazing for them.

858051[/snapback]

Mark Wiley >>>>>> Mel Stottlemyre

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I'm not sure if you're being a jerk or sarcastic or what, but a coach's impact varies from player to player