With an array of talented pitchers eligible for free agency next season, the Cincinnati Reds—unlikely to re-sign them all—are a logical trade partner for teams looking to improve their staff.
Unsurprisingly, Johnny Cueto, the man at the top of Cincy’s rotation, is the most desirable. Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal has the newest rumor:
GM Walt Jocketty commented on a potential trade of Cueto, and teammate Aroldis Chapman via C. Trent Rosecrans of the Cincinnati Enquirer:
Even Reds manager Bryan Price, via the Boston Herald‘s Scott Lauber, has hinted that re-signing all four of Cueto, Mat Latos, Mike Leake and Alfredo Simon will be an unattainable goal:
We’re not in that environment where we can pay (all four pitchers) the terms of the contract that they’ve earned through their performance. There’s other teams that have more ability to take on that type of a financial commitment, and we also have other parts of our team that we have to improve. And maybe we have to look at some of those pieces in our rotation to get us other pieces for 2015 and beyond.
In other words, before they lose some of these valuable pieces for nothing in a year, they need to find a way to flip them for future assets.
As CBS Sports’ Matt Snyder and Fox Sports’ Jon Morosi noted, Cueto will undoubtedly return the biggest haul of those assets:
Over the last several years, there have been very few pitchers better than Cueto, who finished 2014 second in NL Cy Young Award voting behind Clayton Kershaw. Leading the NL in innings pitched (243.2) and strikeouts (242), he compiled a sparkling 2.25 ERA and 0.96 WHIP. He had a career high in strikeouts per nine innings (8.94) and finished fourth in the majors in ERA+ (160), per Baseball-Reference.com.
Giving up prospects for any player who could potentially dart after just one season is an obvious risk, but Cueto, 28, is one of the best starters in the business. For teams that miss out on Jon Lester, he is an obvious target.
Conversely, if general manager Walt Jocketty lets go of the team’s star ace, it’ll be a strong sign that the fire sale has officially begun in Cincinnati.
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