Free Agent Friday: RHP Mike Leake
If there was one area where the Pirates needed the most help in 2020, it was starting pitching. Out of the 11 players who finished the year on the Injured List, six of them were pitchers, including two key starting pitchers. As a result, the Pirates had to make a lot of moves with the starting rotation and never could get a consistent five-man rotation going. It allowed some of the younger pitchers to make their Major League debuts but depleted the Pirates farm system moving into 2021. A look at the team's projected 2021 rotation, only Jameson Taillon has spent at least two full seasons in the Major Leagues. The Pirates could use a veteran arm to help guide the young guys through a full season.
One of those veteran pitchers available on the market this season is right-handed pitcher Mike Leake. Since being one of the first pitchers to head straight to the Major Leagues from the draft with the Cincinnati Reds in 2010, Leake has pitched for five different teams over the last six seasons and is looking for a team that will give him the chance to pitch every five days. With 10-years of Major League Baseball experience under his belt, he knows a thing or two about pitching in a full season. Leake has been a workhorse throughout his professional career and could fit quite nicely with the Pirates.
A Year Off To Recharge
With the COVID-19 pandemic running rampant across the country, the 2020 MLB season had to make some adjustments. Leake did not want to take any chances and decided to opt-out of the 2020 season to protect himself and his family. After moving around with so many teams over the last several seasons, the year off could be just what Leake needed. Leake started 2019 with the Seattle Mariners and was traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks at the July 31st trade deadline. He went 12-11 with a 4.29 ERA making 32 starts for both teams in 197 innings pitched.
Leake is one of those workhorse type pitchers that you want on your staff who will consistently take the ball every fifth day. He hardly walks anybody with a career walk rate of 5.2%. That success continued in 2019, as he allowed a free pass to 27 of the 835 batters faced for a 3.2% walk rate. One of his biggest downfalls is the number of home runs he gives up. During the 2019 season, he led all of the Major Leagues combining to give up 41 home runs over 197 innings pitched. He likes to work his fastball up in the zone and drops the breaking ball to the bottom. His high fastballs have gotten him in trouble as he isn't blowing it buy hitters like he did early in his career. A move to a more pitcher-friendly park might help Leake in this category after he spent most of his career at hitter's parks like Great American Ball Park and T-Mobile Park.
However, because of his good control, when he can get his pitches by opposing hitters, he racks up a fair number of strikeouts. In 197 innings pitched last season, Leake struck out 127 batters for a strikeout rate of 15.2%. He has a five-pitch arsenal that includes a fastball, change-up, sinker, curveball, and slider. The hard stuff he likes to work up in the zone with, and then he changes the batter's eye level by dropping in a breaking ball that has them swinging over top of the pitch. With Pirates pitching coach Oscar Marin looking to bring out the best qualities of his pitchers, he could work with Leake to try and get him to balance out those pitches and make them work against the National League Central hitters.
Veteran Pitcher, Cheap Price Tag
As is always the case with free agents, cost is a big thing the team needs to consider and Leake's price tag is not a hefty one. The right-hander signed a three-year, five million dollar, deal with a club option during the off-season prior to 2018. That averages out to about 1.6 million a year for a 10-year veteran entering his age 33 seasons. His numbers have been very consistent throughout his career with his ERA fluttering between the mid threes and the mid fours. If the Pirates don't exercise their option with Chris Archer, that would open up the door for a move like this. Leake comes with a cheap price tag and he has playoff experience to help the Pirates young starters grind through an entire Major League season.
Leake could easily be brought in on a short two-year deal worth about three to five million dollars. He could serve either as a middle of the rotation pitcher or the Pirates could try him out as a long-reliever, much like they did with Francisco Liriano a couple of years ago. He would be a big addition to the Pirates long-relief game and could join Chris Stratton giving the Pirates two guys in the pen who can eat innings if a Pirates started goes down with an injury. However, if the Pirates would prefer to keep Leake a starter, he could jump in as the three or four starter for the Pirates. If the signing would occur, that would give the Pirates a rotation of Taillon, Keller, Leake, Brault, and Brubaker/Kuhl/Ponce to start the year. It would add a veteran presence that this young staff desperately needs.
Every Friday during the 2020-2021 off-season we will look at another Free Agent that the Pirates could go after to improve the club. None of these free agents are guaranteed actual rumors just ideas looking at the list of free agents on who would help out the Pirates the most. Feel free to leave a comment about Mike Leake, or any other free agent you would like to see the Pirates pick-up this off-season. With the rebuild officially on, veterans and young controllable talent will be the target for the Pirates as they look to turn into a competitive club again.
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