Giants' Savvy Move for Mike Leake Shows World Champs Are Going for It All Again

The San Francisco Giants didn't land Cole Hamels, David Price or any of the 2015 trade season's other top pitching targets. But they did reel in Mike Leake.

And while that might not grab as many headlines, it does make a lot of sense for the defending champs.

First, let's get this out of the way: The Giants didn't whiff on Price and Hamels because they didn't try. Quite the contrary, per CSN Bay Area. 

Still, they lost out on both pitchers, possibly because their farm system—ranked No. 27 in the game by Baseball America—wasn't deep enough. They couldn't match the packages the Texas Rangers and Toronto Blue Jays ultimately came up with to net Hamels and Price, respectively—so it goes.

Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press

Second, let's be clear on this: The Giants needed another starting pitcher.

The rotation is anchored by stud southpaw Madison Bumgarner, who owns a 3.16 ERA with 131 strikeouts in 131 innings after his historic showing in the 2014 postseason. And rookie Chris Heston has been a pleasant surprise, posting a 3.14 ERA through 20 starts.

After that, things get dicey.

Matt Cain, once the Giants' resident horse, is coming off a pair of offseason surgeries and a stint on the disabled list with a forearm strain.

Tim Hudson turned 40 on July 14 and sports a 4.80 ERA. Fellow salty veteran Jake Peavy has pitched well of late, but he also logged time on the DL with a back issue.

Ryan Vogelsong has been demoted to the bullpen, and former ace Tim Lincecum is on the shelf indefinitely with a recently revealed degenerative hip problem.

Add it up, and you've got uncertainty on the mound, where San Francisco has anchored its trio of titles.

Lenny Ignelzi/Associated Press/Associated Press

That means it was time for Plan B, and its name happened to be Mike Leake. 

Leake isn't Price or Hamels or Johnny Cueto, another consensus No. 1 starter dealt ahead of the deadline. But he is a reliable arm who should benefit immensely from a change of scenery.

A glance at the 27-year-old right-hander's splits reveals a stark contrast. In the hitter-happy confines of Great American Ball Park, Leake has posted an unsightly 4.93 ERA this year. On the road, that number falls to 2.28.

Leake isn't a pitcher who misses a lot of bats, meaning he relies on the yard and his defense to help him out.

That's where the good news really begins. San Francisco's AT&T Park has been the second-most pitcher-friendly venue in baseball this season, according to ESPN's Park Factors statistic. 

And while the Giants defense has been statistically middle-of-the-pack overall, per FanGraphs, there are plus gloves littered around the diamond. The double-play combo of shortstop Brandon Crawford and second baseman Joe Panik—both first-time All-Stars in 2015—stands out in particular.

"He's not going to overpower guys," Giants general manager Bobby Evans said of Leake, per MLB.com's Chris Haft, "but he's going to be consistent."

John Minchillo/Associated Press

So Leake's a fine fit for the Giants, and he could pad his numbers by the bay. He's also a rental who will become a free agent after the season, and he didn't come cheap.

To land Leake, San Francisco coughed up High-A hurler Keury Mella, the Giants' No. 1 prospect according to MLBPipeline.com, plus Adam Duvall, a no-glove masher who's clubbed 26 home runs for Triple-A Sacramento.

The Giants gave something up, in other words. But that's what it takes to get value, particularly this year. Just look at the package the Jays surrendered for Price, highlighted by southpaw Daniel Norris, ranked the No. 18 prospect in all of baseball by ESPN's Keith Law.

Grant Brisbee of McCovey Chronicles astutely broke down the Leake swap:

"

The Giants don't have Cole Hamels because their [No. 1] pitching prospect could have been Mella. He's impressive in comparison to the rest of the Giants' farm system, but he's probably in the middle or bottom of a top 10 in a good system. In other words, the kind of pitcher you might expect a team to give up in a lesser deal for a rental.

The Giants might make or miss the postseason by a game. Leake could be a game better than Tim Hudson for the next two months, easily. The worse sin was probably not doing anything, then.

"

The Giants did something. It may not have been the something Bay Area fans drunk on World Series confetti were hoping for, but it'll increase their chances of reaching the postseason and succeeding once they get there, which is sort of their specialty.

Talk all you want about odd-year curses. Cry all you want over Price and Hamels. This is a move that fits for San Francisco, and it proves the champs are taking a serious swing at a fourth trophy.

All statistics current as of July 30 and courtesy of MLB.com unless otherwise noted.