Giants Get Top Target Leake to 'Impact' Rotation

Mike Leake

#45, SP, San Francisco

• Height: 

  5-10

• Weight: 

  190

• Bats: 

  R

• Throws: 

  R

• Born: 

  November 12, 1987

• Birth Place: 

  San Diego, California

• College: 

  Arizona State

• Draft: 

  2009 1ˢᵗ round (8ᵗʰ pick) by the Cincinnati Reds

• W

  9

• L

  5

• ERA

  3.56

• K

  90

• BB

  34

The Giants get "their" man. They were likely never in the mix for Hamels and while Price would have been very, very nice in reality he too was a little rich for the Giants tastes.

from csnbayarea.com via Bleacher Report:
Giants Get Top Target Leake to 'Impact' Rotation

Leake will be a free agent at the end of the season, but some in the organization have talked in the past of getting him in a Giants uniform and hoping he falls in love with the franchise and the city. A similar approach worked with Hunter Pence, who passed up a chance at free agency in 2013 and instead signed a five-year deal with the Giants. Regardless of how the deadline played out, Leake was going to be a target in the offseason. 

Found via Team Stream by Bleacher Report.

Sent from my iPhone

 Jon Heyman of CBS Sports reports that the Giants have agreed to a deal with the Reds for Mike Leake.

Advice: The Reds will receive minor leaguers Keury Mella and Adam Duvall in return. The Giants get the rotation help that they so desperately coveted without having to sacrifice their entire future. It's also a huge win for Mike Leake, who gets to pitch in his home state while moving from one of the top offensive parks in the league to a pitcher's paradise in San Francisco.

More: Jon Heyman on Twitter

Leake should fit in well and give the Giants a little bit of a "recruiting" advantage. Leake benefits by going from a hitters paradise to a pitching friendly, defensive oriented team. Classic Win - Win scenario.

The Broken Down Gang ( the Giants starting rotation ) gets a needed boost. Leake gives the Giants three solid and steady starters along with Bumgarner and Heston. Now if one, maybe two guys can up their game from a list that includes Matt Cain, Jake Peavy, Tim Lincecum, Tim Hudson and Ryan Vogelsong, the Giants improved their chances to make a serious stretch run and playoff push. One of two solid efforts out of five options. Not too much to ask for.

P.S. - To date: Bumgarner 11-5, Heston 11-5, Leake 9-5. Top three starters are winning 2/3 of games started. They should eat up 96 of 162 starts, giving you  64-32 mark in those games. If the #4 and #5 starters can just give you a .500 record, 33-33 in the remaining 66 starts, you finish 97-65. And actually the final two starts should go to your #1 and #2 starters, but it doesn't change the final mark unless you assume #1 and #2 win both versus a split by the mid-bottom of the rotation. So there you go.

BTW: Mella is a solid prospect, I'm not sure he is the #1 prospect in the chain even though MLB Prospect Pipeline does, but I am glad the cost was not two pitching prospects. The fact that Duvall was the second guy in makes this deal a relative bargain, even though Leake is considered a "rental". He is a rental, but with the option to buy.  This is a solid deal on all fronts for the Giants.

Duvall is not even a prospect anymore due to his age. Duffy has a head-lock on the position for now anyway. So he goes to the Reds and sits behind Joey Votto and Todd Frazier. Good Luck with that.

Duvall's experience illustrates the old saw "When opportunity knocks, you better answer the damn door". Don't hide behind the curtains and act like your not home or treat Opportunity like a bill collector or your good for nothing cousin or something.

Do what Matt Duffy did, seize the opportunity. Carpe Opportunity!!! That's why Matt Duffy is still a Giant and Adam Duvall is not. Lesson learned.