D-backs not interested in Mike Leake despite discount
Although they reportedly would be able to sign another starter at a discount, the Arizona Diamondbacks appear to be content with the rotation they have after a pair of major acquisitions.
According to FOX Sports baseball insider Ken Rosenthal, free-agent right-hander Mike Leake "is willing to take significantly less to play at home in Phoenix;" however, it is "probably unlikely" that the Diamondbacks would sign him.
"It's gone back and forth," D-backs chief operating officer Tony La Russa said. "Getting Shelby [Miller] gives us a [full] rotation. I think it's difficult because when somebody wants to pitch for you and you really like the person, you want to try and work it out. But it's complicated and probably unlikely."
Leake was considered one of the top right-handers in the National League at the trade deadline, and was picked up by the San Francisco Giants, with whom he had mixed success in the second half of last season, posting a 2-5 record with a 4.07 ERA.
In his five-plus seasons with the Cincinnati Reds, who drafted him in the first round of the 2009 amateur draft, the 28-year-old starter compiled a 62-47 record with a 3.87 ERA.
The D-backs made a major splash just before and during last week's Winter Meetings by signing top free-agent pitcher Zack Greinke and then making a deal to acquire right-hander Shelby Miller from the Atlanta Braves.
