After months of speculation, the Reds finally parted ways with pitcher Johnny Cueto. On Sunday, the Reds and Royals finalized a deal that sends Cueto to KC for pitchers Brandon Finnegan, John Lamb, and Cody Reed. In this deal, the Reds landed two lefties who could blossom into mid-rotation starters and a third lefty who can be placed in the back of their rotation right away, J.J. Cooper of Baseball America writes. Here’s a look at some of the reactions to the Cueto deal..
- It’s unlikely that the Reds will reacquire Cueto in free agency this winter, C. Trent Rosecrans of the Cincinnati Enquirer tweets. Rosecrans wouldn’t be surprised to see the Reds make a run at Mike Leake – another rumored trade candidate – this winter, but he doesn’t expect that reunion to happen either.
- Cueto told reporters “It’s a good trade. But I am sad,” Nick Groke of The Denver Post tweets.
- If Cueto gets the Royals where they want to go in 2015, it won’t matter whether he stays or leaves, Richard Justice of MLB.com writes. GM Dayton Moore definitely weakened his farm system, but Cueto gives them a chance to win big this year.
- One AL scout told Jack Magruder of The Sports Xchange (on Twitter) that Reed is the sleeper in the deal. That scout sees Reed’s future as a reliever and also feels that Finnegan best fits in a bullpen.
- Finnegan and Lamb will head to Triple-A, John Fay of the Cincinnati Enquirer tweets. Finnegan will be used as a starter.
- The Reds did well in the deal considering that Cueto is a rental, Jim Bowden of ESPN.com tweets. Finnegan and Lamb, he says, both need more time to develop but they both have upside.
- The Reds got a great return, but this was a deal the Royals had to make, Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports tweets.
- Here’s a sneak peek at what Cueto might look like in his new Royals jersey, from our official Instagram page. For the latest from MLBTR on Instagram, follow us today – @traderumorsMLB.
Solid return for 2 months of Cueto.
Absolutely. They were never going to get a bag of blue-chippers for a rental, but this package is a pretty good get.
And Walt’s biggest fan is here!
Guy is a troll.
twitter.com/joshthebress
Kid apparently thinks he can evaluate player talent better than scouts.
Strangely his Twitter page starts off with ‘Cincinnati Reds enthusiast’, when everything I’ve ever seen him say has been totally negative, expressing a clear hatred of the Reds. And ‘SABR member/stats nerd’, who ignores any numbers that portray the Reds favorably.
Went to his Twitter link where he expresses almost the exact opposite opinion than he does here. Obviously likes the troll attention and being a self proclaimed expert. I’m in ignore mode
I hope you feel better now Josh.
twitter.com/joshthebress
Enact your justice here MLBTR. Good luck have fun.
So how is that “the Reds landed two lefties who could blossom into mid-rotation starters and a third lefty who can be placed in the back of their rotation right away” but for the Jays, any chance at a deal started with Stroman, who has already pitched a season in the majors and is likely a #2?
Jays have a tonne of pitchers that are not Stroman that could have equalled this value.
Just guessing they wouldn’t have demanded three B players in a Stroman deal. Maybe Stroman and an arm that looked like Reed in the KC deal.
Link one please. Just one. I want to see it. You are a troll and I hope you are no longer a Reds fan because no fan base needs someone like you.
Wrong Cody Reed is linked as well.
This trade isn’t bad at all for the Reds. I don’t see Finnegan or Lamb being a TOR starter, but if either one can be a solid #3 for a couple seasons, then that alone will have recouped the value from this deal. If Lamb is like the other top prospects from the Royals, he should be fine. They seem to take a little while longer to develop for whatever reason. I honestly don’t know much about Reed, but he sounds like the lottery ticket in the deal. Not too bad for the Reds.
Woops.
That’s not bad at all. The Reds didn’t get a coup, but they got some pieces that they know will be able to add value to their big league club.
They did get 3 pitchers that should impact the major league roster. Lamb and Finnegan could be mid rotation starters…Reed could be a backend bullpen piece. Finnegan and Reed could certainly be back end pieces. It’s an above average move…. Considering they weren’t going to get a single stellar player..they succeeded. Stroman wasn’t coming in…Dodgers weren’t dealing anything major for a rental
that was AZ’s Cody Reed that they have a link too. The Cody Reed coming from KC has a 4.21 ERA in 209.2IP
Lamb had tjs after being a college pick. He is more likely to be a mid rotation starter than finnegan. Lamb throws 95 with movement and 2 above average secondaries.
Lamb will definitely be a starter. If Finnegan can become a starter, the Reds will have done a great job in this deal.
So most logical average scenario is that the Reds get a mid rotation starter and possibly a lefty setup and closer?
I think this is one of those trades that will be graded later on down the road. It’s not like the Royals gave up a Jose Fernandez or a Matt Harvey. They gave up future relievers, one struggling with his development, another recovering from TJ, and a throw in. I think this and the Kazmir deal are setting a tone where teams will have to part with their key players for less than what they would ideally be asking for. I doubt Jay Bruce costs that much. No way should anyone give away their farm for Upton. So I’m in wait and see mode on this trade. But the Royals did good on this one, and I don’t think there’s anything wrong with taking what could help build a good bullpen for cheap in the future for a pitcher like Johnny Cueto.
Finnegan was excellent in the playoff and WS last year, showing remarkable poise for a rookie that had recently been drafted. Whether the Reds use him as a starter or reliever, the Reds came out well on that trade just on Finnegan alone. They had a rental player that was not going to change their season. They’ve got a solid LH pitcher with another 5 or so years of control. If one or both of the other 2 give them major league innings in a few years – well, this is how one does a successful rebuild.
What are you talking about? Finnegan is the reason the Royals lost the WS last year!
You know that Finnegan and Madison Bumgarner aren’t the same people right?
Bumgarner only pitched in 3 games. You have to win 4 games to win the WS. Game 4 was the determining game and Finnegan is the reason the Royals lost that one.
The Royals lost the series, and its generally accepted, because they couldn’t counteract such a tough lefty with so many lefties in their lineup…. You’re nitpicking one certain thing. Royals would have trouble with Kershaw as well.
Regardless of your point….Finnegan having one bad outing in a world series does not negate his value to the Reds.
Please inform me of how allowing a hr in a world series game effects his Reds future potential? You’re blowing wind
The Royals had a great run in the 2014 postseason, but I think Brandon Finnegan giving the Giants the lead in WS game 4 was what finally derailed them. You can never give the Giants any momentum in the postseason. Give them an inch and they’ll take a mile.
I think you backed yourself in a corner because you’re unhappy with the Reds getting Finnegan. It was an extreme statement…its fine..whatever… But the Royals don’t get to that game 4 without Finnegan bailing them out of that Ventura nightmare in the play in game. If you want to break things down to a single play or moment.. Have at it….I’ll roll with Bumgarner dominating 3 entire games. Giving the Giants the lead was.never that big of a deal because of their low scoring offense.
1. I don’t care who the Reds do or don’t get. I’m indifferent towards that team.
2. No, the Royals don’t get to that game 4 without Sean Doolittle blowing the save in the 9th inning of the play-in game.
3. Yes it was a big deal. The Royals jumped out to a giant lead in game 4 and Finnegan just let blew it, along with opening the floodgates for the Giants to score 4 more runs after they took him out
I live in the Cincy area and I just watched the Johnny Cueto interview. He looked like he was about ready to burst into tears. I think we sometimes forget the human element of these baseball trades. These are not just names on a computer screen. He is leaving an organization that he has been a part of for nearly half his life. It’s got to be sad to leave behind your friends and uproot your family.
Yes, but he’s going to a team to play with one of his best friends in Edinson Volquez.
This is part of the job, just like many other jobs in the world, sometimes you have to move around. All of these athletes knew this was a possibility when they signed their contract.
Expecting it and doing it are two different things. Of course he will be fine, but I just wanted everyone to remember that this was not just a fantasy trade. Real people’s lives are completely thrown upside down by the simplest of baseball trades.
What were you expecting the Reds to get for Cueto? You can’t judge any of these prospects that the Reds got right now.
You are clearly a troll or someone who doesn’t follow baseball that closely. IMO, its a win-win for both teams. KC gets someone who should help them get deep into the playoffs, bolsters their rotation, and will give them much needed wins. Cincinnati gets younger and gets something in return for Cueto who probably would leave as a free agent, which is a win right there. Besides that, they got 3 LHP’s, two of which could feasibly help the team this year. They are building for the future and this trade helps them in that process. If they wanted to win now they would not have traded Cueto.
I’m surprised that Cincinnati even wants to try converting Finnegan to a starter. He’s got major control issues that have followed him every step of the way through the minors and into the majors. He’s got swing and miss stuff and can disguise his control issues far better as a 1-inning guy out of the bullpen. He could be a major disaster if Cincinnati depends on him to be a rotation piece next year.
We stretch him out to be a starter and if it doesn’t work he goes to the pen. There’s really no downside. Its basically what was done with Tony Cingrani this year.
I’ll give you credit, “every step of the way through the minors and into the majors” sounds a lot more dramatic than the 85.1 IP he has thrown since he’s been drafted. The guy has been a professional for 1 year.
Cueto only had a couple months of control left. The Reds weren’t going to get the world in return
For for 12 starts, Royals gave too much ! Price can be had at the end of the week by Fading Tigers.
Royals couldn’t match what the Cubs might put out there
I like the return Cinci got back. Hopefully it works out for both sides.
Why did negotiations with Toronto “start” with Marcus Stroman plus others while this is the return from KC? Stroman is injured sure, but has a year of actual proven MLB value at a high level…and these guys are potential mid-rotation guys? I’m wondering if talk of Toronto being involved at all is just smoke and mirrors for the fanbase.
Brandon Finnegan blew the WS for the Royals last year so I’m thinking they must be glad to get rid of him…
Thats really a bizarre thing to say. One reliever can’t blow the entire series. A timely home run from any of the starting 9 could have won them the WS too but we don’t refer to any of them as “blowing the world series” because they didn’t do it. We don’t blame the starters for allowing runs and putting the burden on the relievers. The team lost; all of them.
The moment Finnegan gave the Giants the lead in game 4 and opened the floodgates for the Giants to score like 5 runs after they took him out, I knew the series was over. If the Royals had won that game the Giants would have had to sweep the last 3 games, including 2 at Kauffman.
That’s funny since a little worse of a slip in game 7 in the outfield could have tied the game, and given me a massive heart attack.
Man….I’ve read through comments and you keep saying this…whatever
this is good news for teams like LA/NYY who can sign Cueto in the off season without losing their first round pick.
KC is in win-now mode, and they desperately needed an ace, so saying they gave up too much for a rental is just ridiculous- they gave away talent but nothing that is going to kill them long term.
Cincy got decent return- better than a compensation round pick for losing him as FA certainly.
You linked the wrong Cody Reed. Here is the correct link: http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=reed–002cod
Both Cody Reeds are young LHPs, a 19 year old in A ball and a 22 year old in AA. It’s SS Alex Gonzalez all over again. How will we ever keep track!?!
Bubba Starling was in the trade last night, but medicals did not meet Cincy’s muster. None of the pitchers Cincy received has the ceiling Starling has. Rs can more easily replace hurlers. In the long run Cincy will prob get more from one of these guys than from the comp pick. It’s all a crap shoot.
Starlings medicals didn’t pan out? Was assuming it was Zimmers or another pitchers. I’m not sure on his potential. Hes a local guy the Royals had to draft and they kept him away from QB’ing at Nebraska. I have him comping as Drew Stubbs possibly.