Reports indicate Johnny Cueto has been traded to the Kansas City Royals. Check back here for details.
Ken Rosenthal had the first report:
Source: #Royals getting Cueto.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) July 26, 2015
Update 1: Royals won’t confirm trade to their beat writer:
KC officials won't confirm team's acquisition of Johnny Cueto, which @Ken_Rosenthal said was done. Details should emerge today.
— Andy McCullough (@McCulloughTimes) July 26, 2015
No confirmation from Reds to Mark Sheldon:
No confirmation yet on @Ken_Rosenthal report of Cueto to KC being done deal.
— Mark Sheldon (@m_sheldon) July 26, 2015
Jeff Passan (Yahoo.com) confirms Rosenthal report:
Source confirms @Ken_Rosenthal report that Johnny Cueto has been traded to Kansas City. Return still unknown.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) July 26, 2015
My guess is the teams won’t confirm the trade until the Reds have notified Johnny Cueto. Reds may have decided to tell Cueto in person when he comes into the clubhouse.
Update 2: First report that LHP Brandon Finnegan is *likely* one of the players in the trade. Had heard this name all week. Not confirmed though.
https://twitter.com/MarlyRiveraESPN/status/625340513269489664
Injury-guru (and well-sourced) Will Carroll says rumors flying that Finnegan was player who failed health test:
Yes finnegan is name I keep hearing but none of my sources confirming. Many red flags on him in draft last year.
— Will Carroll (@injuryexpert) July 26, 2015
Jim Bowden just said on his radio show that it sounds like Finnegan is in the trade. He says that’s a great deal for the Reds. Finnegan a ways away, but good healthy arm. I’ve read conflicting reports on Finnegan’s health.
Update 3: Jon Morosi (FOX) has John Lamb as part of the trade. Lamb is a LHP at AAA:
John Lamb is expected to be among prospects going to #Reds in Johnny Cueto trade, source says. #Royals @FOXSports
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) July 26, 2015
Update 4: Cueto in clubhouse and still hasn’t been told, per Mark Sheldon:
Please don't focus on the double negative from Cueto. Bottom line is he hasn't been told yet. #reds
— Mark Sheldon (@m_sheldon) July 26, 2015
John Fay reporting as of 1:10 p.m. the Reds are still looking at the medical reports on the KC players:
Sounds like #Reds are still working medical reports.
— John Fay (@johnfayman) July 26, 2015
Fay now quoting manager Bryan Price saying no trade yet. Wow. Surprising:
Price says Cueto has not been trade. “Absolutely no movement.†#reds
— John Fay (@johnfayman) July 26, 2015
Good for Royals. Good for Cueto.
It’ll be a couple top pitching prospects, which is nice and all, but they need hitters.
Here’s to hoping Leake and/or Chapman can bring a bat or two.
Lots of injury recoveries have to be favorable. Bailey, Cozart, Mesoraco. Not impossible but unlikely.
Bailey will recover by mid 2016 better by 2017.
Mesoraco probably OK but maybe not as everyday C.
I don’t see Cozart fully recovered in 2016. Really bad knee injuries for him.
I like that lineup but Pena gone so will need Mes to catch some and need Winker or another prospect to be ready for OF next year. I also think Cozart is not a lock to be back or back doing what he did early this year. Suarez at SS and Phillips still at 2B likely. We may keep Chapman as well since Kimbrell and Paplebon might be moved cheaper. I’m fine with moving only Leake at this point for hitting prospects and going for it in 2016. Happy trade with KC that I can root for in the playoffs and two potential SP to add to the pot for the rest of the year. We should have a pretty good idea after the second half who will end up SP and who will end up in the pen.
As far as fit is concerned, if I wanted Cueto to go anywhere it would be to KC.
Thanks for all you’ve done, Johnny.
Zing.
I’d be more worried about how Chris Carpenter can explain it to his son.
Seaver pitched 6 years for Reds (mid 1977 through 1982). Hardly a rental.
From that perspective, yes.
But a rental FA last 2 or 3 months. Seaver last almost 6 years as a Red.
Same issue (in reverse) for Frank Robinson. 10 years a Red, 6 years an Oriole.
F-Robby is thought of as an Oriole by many but always a Red by me.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/r/robinfr02.shtml F-Robby still the only Red to hit 20 or more HR in 10 straight years as a Red. Averaged 30 HR those 10 years.
1962 was his best year (stat wise) but earned MVP in 1961. AS team was tough for NL OF in his era. Mays, Clemente, Aaron to name just a few.
Going to miss going to the games and seeing Cueto pitch. Everytime he took the mound you had a feeling we’d win
Maybe Cueto will face his former teammates when K.C. comes in for two on Aug. 18th.
How do you pull up old posts? I want to pull up some of the posts on potential returns from other teams.
thank you
Finnegan no longer on KC Prospect Watch Page:
http://m.mlb.com/prospects/2015/#list=kc
Clipped from Enquirer today:
In 211 starts over eight seasons for the Reds, Cueto was 91-63 with a 3.22 ERA. His 91 wins are tied with Don Gullett for 23rd most as a Red. Of the 24 pitchers who have made more than 200 starts for the Reds, only Bob Ewing (2.37), Will White (2.51), Noodles Hahn (2.52), Jose Rijo (2.83), Bucky Walters (2.93), Gary Nolan (3.02), Dolf Luque (3.09), Tony Mullane (3.15) and Jim Maloney (3.16) had better ERAs.
I prefer Eppa Rixey (LHP and HOF).
7th year in MiLB for Royals. Having good year at Omaha (AAA) in 2015.
Really hope he is not the headliner. Probably in the 15-20 range among royals prospects. Could be in the Reds rotation immedietaly. Numbers this year are great but his other years post tommy john are poor.
If he can be in Reds rotation ASAP why wasn’t he in Royals?
Hope U R right.
I read that Lamb is back to hitting 95 in AAA.
If so, why didn’t Royals call him up? They need SP too.
Sounds like the reds are going for pitchers who can come up this year or beginning next year latest. They will need them, yet I’d prefer if they could get Manaea or Zimmer like was previously mentioned.
MLB Prospect Watch didn’t even have him in the Royals top 30 to start the season
http://m.mlb.com/prospects/2015?list=kc
Not much of a hitter. Plus defender and been called a ” true major league center fielder” by scouts, but a career .246 hitter with high strike out rates through AA. Hitting has shown improvement to the tune of a .286 average this year however
I just want the thing to be done. It’s like when you know a breakup is coming but both parties are hanging on and what could have been simple and amicable becomes complicated and ugly.
Will the Royals also take Schumaker for a bag of pretzels?
Need to lump him in with the Cueto trade
Leading PH (most PH) in all MLB.
Which means very little. Schumaker has been atrocious for the Reds since joining them. Worth -2.0 WAR for the Reds over the last two years. Disaster.
WAR schmar. Schumaker was signed as bench player and PH. He has done that.
He was signed to provide value and hasn’t. Ignoring the stats that matter is silly. .221/.306/.305 with a 66 wRC+. Facts suggest he has been one of the worst players in the game.
He leads MLB in (most) PH in 2015. That certainly helps. Not an everyday player but thrown into starting lineup due to injuries in 2015.
Average PH in MLB bats .208 in 2015. Schumaker over .300 as PH in 2015.
We’re having this argument again?
No, not anymore. Doesn’t seem worth it. Can’t believe it was ever a discussion.
Exactly. The leading PH in MLB plays for the Reds in 215.
Yeah, he’s great. Hope the Reds can get some real value for him on the trade market. Teams love a guy with horrific stats besides one area (small sample size) that doesn’t matter that much.
So now, Price says that there is no movement on Cueto, Lorenzen wasn’t warming up as a Plan B to start the game last night, and John Wilkes Booth wasn’t even in the Ford Theater the night Lincoln was shot.
That explains it.
Nope. Lorenzen could only have gotten trade information from Price. Who else?
Looks like Rosenthal might have jumped the gun on this one, “Price told reporters that there has been “absolutely no movement†on a Cueto deal, John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer tweets. Price also denied that Lorenzen was warming up as a Plan B on Saturday night in case Cueto was dealt”
Wonder why SP on Sunday would warm up on Saturday night?
Now Rosenthal is saying that other execs looking for pitching haven’t been told that Cueto is still available. Very odd tweet — almost like Rosenthal is trying to prove he is right on his initial report this morning. Of course, they may still be working on a deal, but since Price nor Cueto have been told anything it is clear that nothing has been finalized. I might add that Jim Bowden is now claiming a deal is done. This all seems really weird. I suppose we’ll find out one way or another pretty soon.
Price is a liar and a n unprofessional manager, no quotes from him on this site please.
Actually, Rosenthal’s source for his initial breaking of the story was Mike Lorenzen.
Isn’t it normal for pitchers recovering from TJ surgery continue to improve their arm strength the second year after the surgery? Will be sad to see Cueto leave but the Reds couldn’t afford to sign him nor do I think we should have been in a 6 year deal. I don’t see our Reds in post season so I hope Cueto gets his ring.
If TJ recovery is successful, the second year back is when it typically shows up.
Exactly, which is why we shouldn’t expect Baily to be at full strength again until 2017.
Cueto is a clear #1 just about anywhere he goes. Kershaw….uh yeah, that’s about it for “better.” I saw King Felix here in Yankee Stadium a week ago and he wasn’t any better than what I’ve seen from Cueto. Dallas Keuchel is having a big season, as is a hot Greinke, but there’s a pretty good argument that Johnny’s about as good as you’re gonna get, especially from the right side.
The Royals secret is that they use that great ‘pen so well and have by far and away the fewest IP by starters, the shortest average start, and the fewest quality starts – that’s okay when you’re running out a bunch of cheap studs from the bullpen and asking for fewer, but higher quality, IP from the starters. I just hope they don’t turn Cueto into a 5 IP guy and instead let him do what he does.
Don’t you all recall how the Reds have been burned in the past with these mid-season trades where they get players who end up on the long-term DL? It is a long list but it all seemed to start when we made that trade with the Nats a few years back. If I were the Reds, I’d be extremely cautious with the medical examination. The reason this news leaks is that it is virtually impossible to do anything nowadays, especially when the whole world is watching you because they are expecting you to be dealing multiple players. For all we know, the Royals are studying Cueto’s medical records as well. The looming media jump on this stuff before the contracts can even be printed. I’m amazed this stuff does not happen more often.
Very tough to make successful mid year trades.
Howsam was very good at it, acquiring Cloninger-Carroll-Woodward in 1968, Foster in 1971, Norman in 1973, and Seaver in 1977. I think also Cepeda in mid 1960’s for Cardinals (not sure).
Jocketty acquired several good players mid season for Cardinals. He got Rolen in 2010 for Reds.
Hard to do.
The only player that ever paned out somewhat in that Nats trade was Bill Bray. It kind of was a wash on both sides, but I am with you. Historically, trading premiere players for prospects is a crap shoot that has a very low percentage of paying off.
We got a few very good years out of Nick Masset for Jr. Griffey…who literally was too fat for CF by that point
Is this turning in to a circus or what?I’ll check back later time for my nap.
It’s been a circus all year. Just a different ride today.
Royals general manager Dayton Moore added during his pregame talk about the Cueto trade: “Not a lot of truth to it at this point.” I think we have been on a Rosenthal BS ride…..
Uh oh – if Bowden is saying it’s a good trade for the Reds, we’re screwed
I don’t know about John Lamb from the Royals but it would be nice to have a decent lefty in the rotation. I think we went 1-5 vs Cleveland…in big part to the fact that their lineup is so lefty dominated and we didn’t have any to throw back at them. The other day was the worst Cingrani has ever looked (89 mph?) and he’s never developed anything else to fall back on.
Think we got a nice return for JC.
3 young quality,controllable prospects,2 that are ml ready or very nearly so and all for cheap.Hate to see the Reds dump mentality but after reading JC’S agent had sought 200 mil I think we did the right thing.Thats ludicrous for a 29 yr old pitcher.No matter how terrific he is.
I’m sure there will be many differing opinions,but we got 3 of KC’s top 25 prospects.
Can’t complain about what we got back. Two lefties we can try in the rotation this year and at worst start building a real pen. Cody Reed was a 2nd rounder in 2014 and has good numbers so far.
Looks like the ride is over and Rosenthal is redeemed. I like the trade at face value. Can’t wait for the guys over here to break down the numbers.
BTW all 3 are lefties,which we clearly were short of having.
Wow, confusing on Cody Reed. The links on MLB rumors are going to a Cody Reed in the Diamondback system. Here is the correct Cody Reed link.
http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/profile.asp?P=cody-reed-1
i’m gonna miss johnny beisbol……but i sure like the return