Johnny Cueto is headed to the Royals. (Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports)
The Cincinnati Reds traded ace Johnny Cueto to the Kansas City Royals, according to reports Sunday.
Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reported the two sides nearly reached an agreement Saturday night before Cueto took the mound against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field, but one of the players due to move from the Royals to the Reds did not check out medically.
The two sides continued working to make the trade happen and sources confirmed to ESPN’s Jim Bowden and Yahoo’s Jeff Passan that the agreement finally was made.
There was no immediate word on other players that may be involved in the trade.
Cueto is 7-6 with a 2.62 ERA this season, with 120 strikeouts in 19 starts. He made the All-Star team for the second straight year.
On Saturday night, the right-hander pitched eight shutout innings in a 4-0 win against the Rockies, limiting them to four singles before being lifted for a pinch hitter in the ninth.
The 29-year-old Cueto said a teammate told him before the game that he already had been traded.
“They said something to me,” Cueto told reporters after the game. “I don’t want to use a bad word in this location, but it was really bad the way I found out what happened. My head went around the whole way. My thoughts were all over the place.”
Cueto finished second in Cy Young Award voting last year after going 20-9 with a 2.25 ERA.
Reds manager Bryan Price indicated Saturday that a trade could be close to happening.
“Right now, we know that there are a lot of people after our players,” Price said. “We’ve got to be prepared for anything that could happen. There are times we’ve got to concern ourselves with ‘what if?’ There’s a protocol. We’ve got players that may be dealt. We’ve got to make sure all our bases are covered. We can’t go out and have a bullpen day.”
