The Cardinals and free agent right-hander Mike Leake have agreed to a five-year contract with a sixth year mututal option, the team announced. CBS Sports MLB Insider Jon Heyman has confirmed the agreement is worth $80 million and includes a no-trade clause.
"We are pleased to announce the addition of Mike Leake to our starting rotation," said GM John Mozeliak in a statement. "Mike is considered to be one of the game's most consistent performers and he is certainly no stranger to the National League and the N.L. Central. His proven experience and all-around ability should be a real plus for us."
Earlier this offseason the Cardinals lost John Lackey, their 2015 leader in pitcher WAR, to the rival Cubs. Leake will join Adam Wainwright, Carlos Martinez, Michael Wacha and Jaime Garcia in the St. Louis rotation next year.
Wainwright (Achilles), Martinez (shoulder) and Garcia (shoulder) all missed time with injury in 2015 while Wacha wore down late in the season. The signing pushes youngsters like Tyler Lyons, Tim Cooney and Marco Gonzales either into the bullpen or back to Triple-A for depth.
Cardinals GM John Mozeliak recently said the team will not make a "dynamic signing" this offseason, though they clearly have money to spend. They were the runners-up for David Price and also made a substantial offer to Jason Heyward. The Cardinals might not be done after signing Leake, with an outfielder the likely next target.
Leake, 28, was 11-10 with a 3.70 ERA (106 OPS+), 1.16 WHIP and 119 strikeouts in 192 innings for the Reds and Giants last season. The right hander has been pretty durable, only hitting the DL for minor injuries twice in his career. He's topped 190 innings in each of the past three seasons.
With Leake now off the board, the top remaining free agent starters are Wei-Yin Chen, Scott Kazmir and Japanese import Kenta Maeda. Maeda is currently in the middle of the 30-day negotiating period as part of the posting process.
Source: cbssports.com
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