Mike Leake Signing Gives St. Louis Cardinals' Starting Rotation Much-Needed Depth

The St. Louis Cardinals have come to an agreement with free agent starting pitcher Mike Leake on a five-year, $75 million contract. Leake will be returning to the NL Central after being traded from the Cincinnati Reds to the San Francisco Giants around the 2015 MLB trade deadline. He finished 2015 with an 11-10 record, 3.70 ERA and 1.16 WHIP in 30 starts.

Leake’s presence will be huge for the Cardinals’ starting rotation that lost John Lackey to the Chicago Cubs during free agency and will be without Lance Lynn, who underwent Tommy John surgery this offseason and will likely miss the entire 2016 season. Add in the fact that Jaime Garcia has battled injuries his entire career and Adam Wainwright will be coming back off of his own Tommy John surgery, and Leake’s signing was essential for the Cardinals.

It has been a tough offseason for the perennial contenders in the National League. Not only with the loss of Lackey and Lynn’s surgery, but No. 1 free agent target Jason Heyward signed with the division rival Cubs and manager Mike Matheny is not happy about it as the two have had a war of words. With Heyward gone, the Cardinals have a major hole in their lineup with Matt Carpenter the only true power threat.

The Cubs are still the odds-on favorites to win the NL Central, but the Cardinals move back ahead of the Pittsburgh Pirates for second in the division with the Leake signing. John Mozeliak still has some work to do this offseason, but the Cardinals certainly got better today.

Jason Fletcher is a Senior Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @JasonFletcher25, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google+.