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The Kansas City Royals just made a move to help them get back into the World Series by acquiring Johnny Cueto from the Cincinnati Reds for 3 left handed minor league pitchers.
Cueto was signed by the Reds as an ameteur free agent in 2004 and made his Major League debut in 2008. He has been one of the most consistent pitchers in recent years, posting sub-3.00 ERAs for the past 5 seasons. He was a 20-game winner last season and has a career winning percentage of .594. He is currently 7-6 with a 2.62 ERA and 120 strikeouts in 130.2 innings.
“I’m very thankful to my teammates, my fans and my coaching staff,” Cueto said. “It’s a very emotional time for me. But I understand it’s part of the game. I’m just excited about my next step.
“[The Royals] do have a great team. I’m excited about my next chapter. I know they play baseball very good. I’m excited because I know it’s going to be good for my career and good for the team.”
The Royals pitching staff has been dealing with injuries this season, and they just lost Jason Vargas for the remainder of the season to an elbow injury. Cueto will step in as the ace of the Royals’ staff. His role is to be to the Royals what Madison Bumgarner was to the Giants in last year’s World Series.
The Royals currently own the best record in the American League and a 6.5 game lead over the Detroit Tigers. The addition of Cueto puts them in a position of being the team to beat in the American League.
The Reds received Brandon Finnegan, John Lamb, and Cody Reed from the Royals. Finnegan has been bouncing back and forth between the Royals and the AAA Omaha Storm Chasers after starting the season with the AA Northwest Arkansas Naturals. He was the 17th overall pick in last season’s MLB Draft out of Texas Christian University.
Cueto will be a free agent at the end of the season.
All statistics and quotes courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com and MLB.com