St. Louis Cardinals: Cardinals trade Mike Leake to the Mariners

Early Wednesday morning, the St. Louis Cardinals reportedly traded right-hander Mike Leake to the Seattle Mariners.

Bob Nightengale of USA Today reported Wednesday morning the St. Louis Cardinals were close to trading right-hander Mike Leake. Now, that deal is done, and Mike Leake is reportedly off to Seattle. The news of the trade certainly sends shockwaves throughout Cardinal Nation.

I think most of us did not expect the Cardinals to do much at the end of August, considering the waiver wire deadline is tomorrow. If anything, I think we expected the Cardinals to go get someone. While that is still true, we didn’t expect to see Leake’s name to be traded.

His contract has about $55 million left and has a full no trade clause. In order for this deal to be complete, Leake would’ve had to sign off on the trade. We still are awaiting what the return for Leake will be, but I’m sure some in Cardinal Nation are undoubtedly happy.

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The St. Louis Cardinals have already done business with the Seattle Mariners this year.

Before the July trade deadline, the Cardinals sent pitcher Marco Gonzales to the Mariners in exchange for Tyler O’Neill.

I don’t remember the last time two teams traded with each other twice in the same year.

Outside of who the St. Louis Cardinals get in return, it certainly heats up the discussion on Lance Lynn. Moving the money left on Mike Leake’s deal means the Cardinals free up space to sign Lynn to a new contract.

the move also opens up a rotation spot, seemingly going to go to Luke Weaver after last night’s performance. This means Wainwright may come back sooner than we thought. However, don’t be surprised to see Jack Flaherty come up when the rosters expand in September.

Leake finishes his St. Louis career with a 16-24 record and a 4.46 ERA in fifty-six starts. His 2017 season was better than 2016. He started out very well in 2017, even garnering consideration for a NL-Cy Young award. However, his second half of the season has been much like 2016.

Next: Weave auditioning for a starting spot

I wish Leake nothing but the best in Seattle. Hopefully the return on him is worth it. I would speculate as to maybe Edwin Diaz, the Mariner’s closer, might be involved.