Mariners acquire Mike Leake from Cardinals

Jerry Dipoto wanted another starting pitcher, and he woke up, palms sweaty, mom’s spaghetti, desperate to swing a deal, any day, please, make him an offer, he has prospects, he has money, just one more deal, please, just to tide him over.

The Cardinals wanted to save a little money and free up a rotation spot.

With that, the Mariners acquired Mike Leake and international bonus slot money from the Cardinals for 21-year-old shortstop prospect Rayder Ascanio. The official Cardinals press release didn’t mention cash considerations, which is an important detail, considering that Leake is owed $55 million over the next three years. Edit: According to Ken Rosenthal, the Cardinals are sending over $17 million.

Leake was having a very Leakestic season, with a 101 ERA+ (career: 99), a low strikeout rate, and excellent control. The 29-year-old right-hander has averaged 31 starts over the last five seasons, and he’s on pace to match that this season. There are few starters as reliable as ol’ Mike Leake, and in this case reliability means “plenty of quality starts” mixed in with “avert thine eyes, aieeeee” starts.

August has seen more of the latter, starts, though, and Leake’s ERA has jumped from 3.29 to 4.21 just in the last month.

Ascanio is a switch-hitting shortstop who was hitting .217/.295/.355 between Low-A and High-A, with a career OPS of .649. His defensive reputation is solid, but his bat has been underwhelming at every stop, which means that you can look forward to him hitting .290/.377/.464 with the Cardinals in 2020.

The Mariners have had a miserable time keeping their starting pitchers healthy and effective, with James Paxton, Felix Hernandez, and Hisashi Iwakuma all on the disabled list, and most of their replacements have struggled. These two teams made a trade before the deadline, with the Mariners acquiring Cardinals starter Marco Gonzales, but the left-hander has struggled in seven starts. With Leake, the Mariners can bolster their rotation for their wild card chase, while also planning for 2018.

In July, the Cardinals were rumored to be exploring a trade that included pending free agent Lance Lynn because they wanted to make room for Luke Weaver, but Adam Wainwright’s injury opened up a spot for them. The Cardinals have used just seven different starters this season (with two of them on the Mariners now), and they were having trouble fitting some of their younger pitchers into the picture. Their rotation possibilities include promoting John Gant, Zac Gallen, or Jack Flaherty, all three of whom are thriving in the upper minors. There’s also a chance that Adam Wainwright will pitch again this season, and don’t forget about Alex Reyes, who should be back next year. The Cardinals are thinking about the long term, and they’re saving a little money while doing it.

The Mariners, though, are using their financial resources to acquire a pitcher who is exceptional at being average. While Safeco Field seems like it’ll be a perfect fit for Leake, he’s seemingly impervious to park effects, pitching as well at Great American Ballpark as he did at Busch Stadium as he did at AT&T Park. He is eternally Mike Leake, and I can see him doing this until he’s 44.

Check one box off the Mariners’ offseason checklist, though, as Dipoto goes on the prowl for more transactions, searching, hunting, snuffling, rooting through the waiver wires and digging through inches of soil when he catches their scent. The hunger is sated, for now, but he will never be truly content. There will be another transaction. A need has been filled, but how many more will open up? Searching, hunting, snuffling, rooting through waiver wires and digging through ...