St. Louis Cardinals Trade Rumors: Add Free Agent Mike Leake
The St. Louis Cardinals upgraded their roster depth by announcing that free-agent starting pitcher Mike Leake has agreed to join the team on an $80 million deal for five years, in which there also is an attached no-trade clause, as well as a mutual option that may increase the deal's value to about $94 million.
The signing means that Leake will now be joining a formidable bunch of pitchers for the Cardinals that include mainstays Adam Wainwright, Jaime Garcia, and Michael Wacha.
According to the 28-year-old, he's just happy that he finally found a team willing to work with him. "I was looking for some place to call home. They were willing to work with us and we were willing to work with them," he said.
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Leake last played for the San Francisco Giants after getting dealt in the trade deadline. He spent most of his career though with the Cincinnati Reds. He does not have incredible numbers compared to big-name free agents, but he sure gets the job done. While he has never won more than 14 games in one season, Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak believes that the right-hander is more than capable of rising to the occasion.
"When we make decisions, it is about performance. We heard nothing but positives," he said, talking about Leake's reputation in the league.
Leake is known in professional baseball history as the first-ever player to go directly from the MLB Draft to the major leagues since Xavier Nady did the same. He also is the first starting pitcher to achieve that feat since Jim Abbott in 1989.
According to him, the Cardinals are the ideal destination, being a team that he referred to as a "dynasty." And it's really hard to argue with him. St. Louis has, in fact, been a mainstay in the NL championship series for four straight years already.
