With apologies to Mike Leake, the St. Louis Cardinals didn't get an ace this winter. But they might be getting an ace back, which could be equally huge.
We're talking about Adam Wainwright, one of the best pitchers in baseball when he's right.
That caveat is important, because Wainwright, who turns 35 in August, missed nearly all of last season with a busted Achilles tendon. It's not a given that he'll resume his dominant, ace-level ways over a 162-game grind.
There's cause for optimism, however. And if Wainwright can be an elite rotation anchor, suddenly the Cardinals vault into the thick of the postseason scramble and become a legitimate World Series contender.