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Minor MLB Transactions: 12/28/15

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Matt Eddy of Baseball America has all the latest minor league moves, and there are some notable additions that have not yet appeared on the pages of MLBTR. Among them:

  • The Marlins have signed righty Dylan Axelrod, lefty Troy Patton, and shortstop Robert Andino. Axelrod has seen MLB action in each of the last five seasons, but has seen his opportunities dwindle and owns only a 5.27 career ERA in 228 2/3 frames. Patton has had success at times in the bigs — he was a solid contributor to the Orioles from 2011-13 — and threw 30 1/3 innings of 2.37 ERA pitching last year at Triple-A. As for Andino, he’ll return to the organization with which he cracked the majors after spending last season in independent ball.
  • Outfielder Alex Castellanos is heading to the Rockies, per Eddy. The 29-year-old has seen only minimal MLB time, despite solid numbers at Triple-A. He played briefly last year for Japan’s Yomiuri Giants.
  • The Cardinals signed righty Jeremy Hefner, who is working his way back after Tommy John surgery. Hefner threw 224 1/3 frames for the Mets, with a 4.65 ERA, over 2012-13.
  • Joining the Diamondbacks are righties Matt Buschmann and Jose Cisnero. Buschmann, 31, spent time with three organizations last year and has yet to crack the majors. Still just 26, Cisnero has made it to the bigs with the Astros but threw at Double-A last year in the Reds organization, continuing to show an ability to miss bats but also a predilection to miss the zone.
  • The White Sox inked right-hander Josh Wall. Wall has made 15 major league appearances in past seasons. Heading into his age-29 campaign, the reliever will be looking for a chance to pick up some more MLB frames after throwing sixty innings of 2.70 ERA ball last year at Triple-A, with 10.4 K/9 against 3.2 BB/9.

NL Notes: Phillies, Dodgers, Rockies, Cardinals

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The Phillies only hired new GM Matt Klentak in late October, but he’s already been through a Winter Meetings and executed a big trade (that of Ken Giles to the Astros). In a Q+A, he tells MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki that he’s happy with the Giles deal (in which the Phillies received Vincent Velasquez and Mark Appel), and says that as the Phillies continue their rebuild, they’re confident that they’ll be able to supplement their growing collection of young pitching with hitters acquired from outside the organization. “Hitters generally regard our park as a good place to play,” he says. “I know that our ownership is very committed — and will be in the future — to bringing in the right players and the top-caliber players to help us.” Here’s more from the National League.

  • The Dodgers still haven’t added any top-flight starting pitching to offset the loss of Zack Greinke, but president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman says he is now happy with the organization’s depth, Bill Plunkett writes for Baseball America. “This offseason is different than last in that going into next year, we feel much better about our pitching depth that will be in (Triple-A) Oklahoma City,” says Friedman. “We have a number of guys that we like that will be there and that is a big difference for us next year compared to this year just in terms of the depth that we’ll have on hand.” Oklahoma City’s rotation will likely feature top prospects Julio Urias and Jose De Leon, along with 40-man members Jharel Cotton and Ross Stripling.
  • As FOX Sports’ Jon Morosi tweeted earlier this week, the Cardinals have spoken with the Rockies about a possible trade involving at least one Rockies outfielder. Benjamin Hochman of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (and formerly of the Denver Post) writes that it’s probably more realistic that the Cardinals could pursue Corey Dickerson or Charlie Blackmon rather than Carlos Gonzalez, even though both Dickerson and Blackmon have negatives (for Dickerson, a weak arm; for Blackmon, poor numbers away from Coors Field). Hochman guesses that the Rockies’ end of a potential deal would likely begin with first baseman Matt Adams.

Cardinals Sign Mike Leake

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After spending much of the offseason searching for a rotation upgrade, the Cardinals on Tuesday added a much-needed arm to the equation, announcing the signing of right-hander Mike Leake to a five-year deal. Leake, a client of the Beverly Hills Sports Council, will reportedly take home a guarantee of $80MM. His contract also includes a mutual option that can escalate the deal to $93MM and a full no-trade clause. Via CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman (on Twitter), Leake’s contract has a somewhat unusual sloped structure — he will receive $12MM in 2016, $15MM in 2017, $17MM in 2018, $16MM in 2019, $15MM in 2020, then an $18MM option or a $5MM buyout in 2021.

Mike Leake (vertical)

Having lost right-hander John Lackey to free agency — specifically, to the division-rival Cubs — and right-hander Lance Lynn to Tommy John surgery, St. Louis’ need for starting pitching was clear.  The Cardinals began their search with a high-profile pursuit of David Price and even made the second-best offer to ace left-hander.  But, while their seven-year offer edged out the rival Cubs, it was still worth $30MM less than that of the Red Sox.

Over the last few weeks, the Cardinals have continued to scan the market, though they were known to be averse to signing any player who had rejected the qualifying offer.  Quality pitchers like Yovani Gallardo, Ian Kennedy, and Wei-Yin Chen are still available as of this writing, but the Cardinals were not terribly interested in sacrificing a draft pick in order to sign any of them.  The Cardinals were also keeping an eye on Scott Kazmir, but he almost certainly will not be signing in St. Louis now.

In 2015, for the second consecutive year, Leake posted a 3.70 ERA, marking three straight seasons with a sub-3.75 ERA and at least 190 innings.  All but two months of those three years came while pitching his home games at an extremely hitter-friendly home venue: Cincinnati’s Great American Ball Park.  Leake was able to thrive in large part due to his excellent control (2.3 BB/9 for his career) and his strong ground-ball rate.  Leake’s 50.2 percent career mark in that regard is impressive, and it’s ticked upwards over the past two seasons, now siting closer to 53 percent.  And, though he has just one season of 200-plus innings, Leake has been virtually injury free throughout his career.

However, in an age where velocity and strikeouts are being emphasized more than ever, Leake doesn’t bring either to the table. His career-best K/9 rate is 2014’s 6.9, and he averaged just 5.6 K/9 in 2015. Leake has added some life to his fastball each year, but this season’s 90.9 mph average still rated below the 91.7 mph league average for starting pitchers.

Leake has owned right-handed hitters over the past two seasons, but he’s had less success against lefties, and that’s been a trend throughout his career. He’s yielded a .274/.324/.444 batting line to lefties throughout his big league tenure. Some of that should be taken with a grain of salt, as those numbers aren’t park-adjusted, but that’s still the rough equivalent of Evan Longoria’s 2015 batting line — hardly an ideal result.

Nevertheless, Leake’s addition to the rotation will give the Cardinals stability that they previously lacked. While young arms such as Michael Wacha, Carlos Martinez and Marco Gonzales each possess undeniable upside — Martinez and Wacha have displayed much of that potential in the Majors already — each comes with some injury concerns.  Another highly talented arm, Jaime Garcia, has proven to be injury prone. While the Cardinals exercised his $11.5MM club option for the 2016 season earlier this winter, the team still can’t rely on him for 200-plus innings.  In Leake, the Cardinals will solidify one of the middle spots in their rotation by adding a pitcher that has proven to be a consistent source of 30-plus starts and 190-plus innings each season.

As an added means of value, Leake was a noted two-way player in college, and his experience as an infielder makes him a solid defender on the mound and an above-average bat, relative to his mound peers.  In 411 career plate appearances, Leake is a .212/.235/.310 hitter.  Those numbers are unsightly when compared to the rest of the league but dwarf the 2015 league-average batting line for pitchers: .131/.158/.168.  Because Leake was traded from the Reds to the Giants midway through the 2015 season, he won’t cost the Cardinals a draft pick.  St. Louis will preserve its first-rounder and, in fact, have three picks in the top 40 or so selections next year thanks to the picks acquired as compensation for losing Lackey and Jason Heyward to the Cubs.

Depending on the yearly breakdown, Leake’s contract — which is an exact match with MLBTR’s predictions on our Top 50 free agent list and Leake’s free agent profile — should bring the Cardinals’ Opening Day payroll to about $122MM, which would match last year’s Opening Day mark.  The Cardinals are well-positioned to add a long-term commitment to the ledger, as the team has just three players — Adam Wainwright, Matt Carpenter and Jedd Gyorko — under guaranteed contracts beyond the 2017 season.

Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports first reported the agreement and the financial details (links to Twitter).

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

NL Notes: Cabrera, Cardinals, Phillips

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In 2015, Matt Duffy thrust himself into the baseball limelight for his play on the field as well as his social media presence, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle writes.  As far as the baseball part goes, Duffy says that he isn’t stressing over whether he can manage a repeat performance in 2016.

“I think it’s human to think about that,” Duffy said. “But you just get back to what made me able to do it. I wasn’t worrying about hitting .300 or hitting ten homers.  I did it by focusing on the most simple thing: See the ball as big as I can and put a good swing on it. As soon as you think about other people’s expectations, you lock yourself up trying to do the simplest things.”

Here’s more out of the National League:

  • Mark Simon of ESPN.com looked at new Mets shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera and stacked him up against everyone else at his position at shortstop.  Ultimately, Cabrera does not grade out as an elite option, but he is an upgrade over what the Mets had there prevously.  A major league scout told Simon that Cabrera profiles similarly to former teammate Jhonny Peralta. “I don’t think he’s a top-15 shortstop, but he’s in the middle of the pack,” said the scout. “What I like about in him is his ability to switch-hit, and I like his hands defensively. Everything he gets to, he’ll catch. Range-wise, he’s limited, but he’s still a quality baseball player. He knows how to do little things that help his team win. He may not match up to the kids at shortstop athletically, but he’ll surpass them in baseball intelligence. His brain is top-10. He’s still a very good guy to have on a major-league roster.” Cabrera inked a deal with the Mets which will guarantee him $18.5MM over the next two seasons plus a club option that could keep him in place through 2018.  As it stands, Cabrera might go down as the Mets’ biggest free agent splash this winter.
  • The Cardinals must focus on offensive development to remain a perennial contender, Jeff Gordon of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch opines.  Thanks to revenue sharing, even smaller market teams are able to lock up their young bats well before they can ever hit the open market.  Historically, the Cardinals have shied away from the high-ceiling potential of high school hitters in favor of college players with quick developmental potential.  Now, with three selections within the first 40 or so picks, Gordon believes that the Cards can afford to go with more long-range prospects.
  • Hal McCoy of the Dayton Daily News cannot understand why Reds Brandon Phillips refused to sign off on a trade that would have sent him to the Nationals.  The second baseman reportedly wanted enhancements made to his current pact, which calls for him to earn $27MM over the next two years.  McCoy views the veteran as greedy for making those demands and can’t fathom why he wouldn’t want to play for a winning team like the Nationals, especially when it means that he could have been reunited with Dusty Baker.  Of course, after the Nats agreed to sign Daniel Murphy, there’s no real chance of that deal coming back together.

Reactions To The Mike Leake Deal

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After spending much of the offseason searching for a rotation upgrade, the Cardinals got the job done on Tuesday when they signed Mike Leake to a five-year deal worth a guaranteed $80MM.  The deal, which includes a mutual option that can boost the deal to $93-94MM and a full no-trade clause, gives the Cardinals some much-needed support on the backend of their starting five.  This offseason, St. Louis lost right-hander John Lackey to free agency and right-hander Lance Lynn will be out after getting Tommy John surgery.

Here’s a look at some of the reactions to Leake’s hefty payday:

  • Leake had discussions with teams about doing a three-year deal at $20MM per season with opt-outs after each year, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com hears (on Twitter).  Ultimately, however, Leake signed on for a guaranteed average annual value of $16MM over five seasons.
  • The Leake signing includes a hidden benefit for the Cardinals, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports writes.  Leake did not cost the Cards a draft pick since the mid-season deal sending him to San Francisco made him ineligible for a qualifying offer.  The Cardinals, meanwhile, picked up an additional two picks when they lost Lackey and Jason Heyward to the Cubs in free agency.  Teams generally view a late-first round pick as being worth $5-8MM, sources tell Rosenthal, so the net cost for signing Leake might be something closer to $72-75MM for St. Louis.
  • Leake’s consistency and durability make him ideal fit for the Cardinals, Keith Law of ESPN.com writes (Insider sub. req’d).  Law argues that Leake’s deal is about the going rate for a league-average starter right now but his ability to eat up innings and induce ground balls make him an ideal fit for the Cards.  Leake has made over 30 starts in each of the last four seasons  and has never suffered an arm injury.  The Cardinals need an innings eater badly and ground ball pitching is something that they value highly, Law writes.
  • The $80MM deal might seem steep at first glance, but Jeff Sullivan of Fangraphs took a stab at justifying it for St. Louis.  Among the arguments made is that Leake is only 28 years of age.  He was one of the youngest free agent hurlers available this winter and unlike other available under-30 pitchers, Leake has a history of being dependable.
  • On Wednesday, MLB Trade Rumors’ Instagram account unveiled a sneak peak at what Leake will look like in his new jersey.

Outrighted: Rondon, Monell, Cunniff, Robertson

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In addition  to the large number of minor signings and waiver claims today, there have been quite a few outrights from around the league. Righty A.J. Achter has already been outrighted by the Angels, but here are the rest of the day’s outright assignments…

  • The Pirates have outrighted right-hander Jorge Rondon to Triple-A Indianapolis. While Rondon hadn’t been previously designated for assignment, the Buccos needed to clear a roster spot to make way for John Jaso and his new two-year contract, and Rondon was the 40-man casualty. Rondon carried a 2.23 ERA over 60 2/3 innings at Triple-A last year, with 7.4 K/9 against 2.8 BB/9. He was once rated among the top thirty prospects of the Cardinals, and has a track record of solid, if unspectacular, numbers in the minors.
  • The Mets have outrighted catcher Johnny Monell to Triple-A Las Vegas, according to ESPN New York’s Adam Rubin (Twitter link). Monell was designated for assignment last week when the team needed a roster spot for the recently re-signed Bartolo Colon. Monell, 30 next March, received his second taste of Major League action last season, collecting a career-high 52 plate appearances with New York. Prior to that, his lone experience in the big leagues was a brief eight-game stint with the 2013 Giants (nine plate appearances). In the Majors, Monell is a .161/230/.196 hitter across his small sample of 61 PAs, but he has a sound track record in the minors, where he’s put together a .279/.356/.455 batting line with 31 homers across 1012 PAs in Triple-A.
  • Right-hander Brandon Cunniff has been outrighted to Triple-A Gwinnett by the Braves after clearing waivers, according to a tweet from the team. A former 27th-round draft pick by the Marlins, Cunniff spent three seasons in the independent Frontier League following his brief minor league career with the Marlins. The Braves plucked him from the indy circuit in June of 2013, and he rather quickly rose through their ranks over the past two years. Cunniff posted a brilliant 2.02 ERA in Double-A and jumped directly to the Majors, where he posted a 4.63 ERA with a 37-to-22 K/BB ratio in 35 innings.
  • MLB.com’s Greg Johns tweets that outfielder Daniel Robertson has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Triple-A by the Mariners after being designated for assignment last week. Robertson lost his roster spot to the re-signed Hisashi Iwakuma but is clearly a player valued by GM Jerry Dipoto, who acquired him from Texas while serving as GM of the Angels and again picked him up from the Halos this winter after taking over the Mariners’ GM job. In 277 career plate appearances, Robertson is a .274/.324/.325 hitter. He also boasts a solid minor league track record and is capable of playing all three outfield positions, making him a valuable depth option for a big league team.

Rosenthal On Dodgers, Giants, Cardinals

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After discussing the Mets’ budget-conscious offseason spending thus far — and questioning the team’s choice of an apparently conservative route after a run to the World Series last year — Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports runs through a variety of notes from around the league. Here are some highlights:

  • Even as the Dodgers pursue Kenta Maeda, the team is continuing to show interest in Scott Kazmir, per Rosenthal — despite an already heavily left-handed rotation. And there is some sentiment among rival executives that L.A. could make a play for yet another southpaw, Wei-Yin Chen.
  • The Giants remain unlikely to play at the top of the free agent outfield market, according to the report, but might look at the next level down. Two names in play are Dexter Fowler and Gerardo Parra, with another possibility being the addition of a right-handed-hitting platoon partner for Gregor Blanco. San Francisco is also in communication with the Rockies on their outfielders, Rosenthal’s colleague Jon Morosi reports.
  • The Cardinals did not sign Mike Leake with intentions of spinning off another starter for outfield help, says Rosenthal. As he notes in another post, signing Leake — while allowing John Lackey to walk — came with some draft benefits, as the club didn’t have to sacrifice a pick to add the former and will gain a selection for losing the latter.

Free Agent Notes: Kazmir, Murphy, Span, Royals

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Now that the Cardinals have signed right-hander Mike Leake to a five-year deal, they’re out of the mix on lefty Scott Kazmir, tweets CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman. The Nationals, Orioles and Royals are among the clubs still looking at Kazmir, according to Heyman. A report from Monday indicated that the Athletics and Astros were also among the finalists for Kazmir, who reportedly has received three-year offers that come with annual rates in the $12-13MM range. However, Kazmir’s hope is said to be a four-year contract. Earlier tonight, Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun wrote that he didn’t foresee the O’s going four years on Kazmir (or any other free-agent starter, for that matter).

A few more notes on what is still a very deep class of free agents…

  • Daniel Murphy hasn’t been aggressive in seeking new opportunities for much of the offseason, reports Mike Puma of the New York Post, as he maintained hope that he would return to the Mets right up until their acquisition of Neil Walker from the Pirates. The Mets, according to Puma, were clear in telling Murphy that they intended to go in another direction this offseason, but Murphy sought more than the one- to two-year offers with which the Mets were comfortable and seems to have been hoping that an increased offer from the Mets would materialize.
  • Agent Scott Boras has been seeking a three-year deal for client Denard Span, industry sources tell Puma in a second column. The Mets had genuine interest in Span, according to Puma, but they weren’t keen on committing to a center field partner for Juan Lagares beyond the 2016 season. Beyond that, the Mets didn’t want to wait for Span’s January showcase before moving to add a left-handed bat, as doing so would’ve meant risking their alternative options signing elsewhere in the interim.
  • Royals GM Dayton Moore wouldn’t comment to MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan when asked about negotiations with Alex Gordon — specifically, Jim Bowden’s previous report at ESPN that the Royals are offering $12-13MM per year on a four-year deal — or extension talks with catcher Salvador Perez. Moore did, however, openly voice his desire to add a corner outfielder and another starting pitcher. “We feel we have quality depth in the outfield, but we have a desire for an experienced corner outfielder. And we would like another quality starting pitcher,” said Moore. Per Flanagan, the Royals hope to have seven or eight players that are viable rotation options on the roster to open the season. At present, Kansas City has Yordano Ventura, Edinson Volquez, Danny Duffy, Chris Young and Kris Medlen as options, plus lefty Jason Vargas recovering from Tommy John surgery.

Cardinals, Mike Leake Nearing Agreement

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TUESDAY, 9:23am: It’s possible that a deal could be reached by the end of today, Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com tweets.  The deal with the Cardinals is expected to be in the five-year, $75MM range and could include an option, a source tells Chris Cotillo of SB Nation (on Twitter).

The Cardinals gave Leake a strong offer last week and have been waiting for a resolution, Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com tweets.  Multiple sources also tell him that a deal is getting close.

8:50am: The Cardinals and Leake are close to agreement on a deal, Chris Cotillo of SB Nation tweets.

MONDAY, 10:45pm: Leake is aiming for a five-year deal, per Cotillo (Twitter link).

10:10pm: There’s a “growing belief” that free agent Mike Leake will be signing somewhere very soon, Chris Cotillo of SB Nation tweets. The Cardinals, he adds, appear to be a strong contender for his services.

MLBTR’s Steve Adams profiled Leake recently, explaining that his market appeal lies in a combination of age, health, the lack of a qualifying offer, and solid production.  Both Adams and MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes have predicted five-year, $80MM contract for Leake, placing him among the 15 or so free agents with the greatest expected earning power.

Recently, the Dodgers were mentioned as a possibility for Leake after their agreement with Hisashi Iwakuma was 86’d.  It’s not clear if the Astros have had substantive talks with Leake’s reps, but they do appear to be a fit for a veteran starter like Leake.  Leake reportedly was ready to give a hometown discount to the D’Backs, but Tony La Russa recently called that match “probably unlikely” to happen.  The Cardinals have been a logical landing spot for Leake all winter long, but some speculated that his asking price could be too rich for their blood.

In 2015, for the second consecutive year, Leake posted a 3.70 ERA.  That marks three straight seasons with a sub-3.75 ERA and at least 190 innings.  All but two months of those three years came while pitching his home games at an extremely hitter-friendly home venue: Cincinnati’s Great American Ball Park.  Leake was able to thrive in large part due to his excellent control (2.3 BB/9 for his career) and his strong ground-ball rate.  Leake’s 50.2 percent career mark in that regard is impressive, and it’s ticked upwards over the past two seasons, now siting closer to 53 percent.

Though he has just one season of 200-plus innings, Leake has been virtually injury free throughout his career.  He landed on the DL late in the 2010 season with right shoulder fatigue but avoided the DL for the next five years, until a hamstring injury sidelined him for about two weeks in August.  He dealt with some forearm tightness at season’s end, but it wasn’t serious and didn’t lead to major concern.

However, in an age where velocity and strikeouts are being emphasized more than ever, Leake doesn’t bring either to the table. His career-best K/9 rate is 2014’s 6.9, and he averaged just 5.6 K/9 in 2015. Leake has added some life to his fastball each year, but this season’s 90.9 mph average still rated below the 91.7 mph league average for starting pitchers.

Leake has owned right-handed hitters over the past two seasons, but he’s had less success against lefties, and that’s been a trend throughout his career. He’s yielded a .274/.324/.444 batting line to lefties throughout his big league tenure. Some of that should be taken with a grain of salt, as those numbers aren’t park-adjusted, but that’s still the rough equivalent of Evan Longoria’s 2015 batting line — hardly an ideal result.

NL Central Notes: Melancon, Cardinals, Leake

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Free agent starter Mike Leake could be on the verge of signing somewhere soon.  The Cardinals are believed to be a leading suitor for him, though it’s not clear if that will be his landing spot this winter.  So far, we’ve seen multiple logical destinations for Leake fall out of the picture for various reasons.

Leake reportedly would have given the D’Backs a sizable discount in order to pitch close to home in Arizona, but Tony La Russa called that match “probably unlikely” to happen after the Shelby Miller acquisition.  The Giants could have moved to retain Leake, but that’s no longer a real possibility after signing two high-priced free agent starters.  At this stage of free agency, the Cardinals certainly appear to be one of the best fits for the 28-year-old.

Here’s today’s look at the NL Central:

  • Could the Pirates still move Mark Melancon this winter?  Adam Berry of MLB.com asked Pirates GM Neal Huntington about what the Charlie Morton trade means for Melancon’s future in Pittsburgh.  “We’ve never had to trade Mark,” Huntington replied. “It’s always been [a question of] if we’re better with him with us, or if we think it’s a better move for the organization to move him elsewhere, and that still applies.”  In short, Berry feels that the Bucs are likely to keep Melancon, though they won’t say no if they’re blown away with the perfect offer.
  • The free agent market has shifted to a tier including the likes of Mike Leake, Scott Kazmir, Yovani Gallardo, Ian Kennedy, and Wei-Yin Chen, but the Cardinals are only really interested in the first two because of their aversion to giving up a draft pick, as Rick Hummel of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes.  Between Leake and Kazmir, the Cards are probably more interested in Leake.  Leake is younger, has proven himself to be a strong pitcher in the NL, and has been one of the best hitting pitchers in the league as well.  Leake batted quite well early in his career, and while he had his worst season at the plate in 2015, he’s an overall .212/.235/.310 hitter in the Majors.  That’s obviously not good, relative to the rest of the league, but it’s not bad for a pitcher.
  • Do the Cardinals really need to sign a pitcher to anything more than a one-year deal given the arms they already have in-house?  Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com says the Cardinals feel that you can never have too much pitching and therefore they are not ruling out a multi-year deal for a strong starter.  The Cardinals could find themselves with a pitching logjam in 2017 thanks, in part, to Lance Lynn’s return, but the Cards are also aware that Lynn and Jaime Garcia will be free agents after that season.  It might make sense for the Cardinals to deal with a bit of a logjam in ’17 in order to have options beyond that campaign.

 

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