DENVER — The inevitable finally happened when the Cincinnati Reds traded their ace right-hander Johnny Cueto to the Kansas City Royals for left-handed pitchers Brandon Finnegan, John Lamb and Cody Reed.
The deal was announced before the Reds were pounded 17-7 by the Rockies in the rubber game of their series.
Finnegan, 22, and Lamb, 25, will be assigned to Triple-A Louisville, and Reed will be assigned to Double-A Pensacola.
Cueto went 7-6 with a 2.52 ERA this season for the Reds in 19 starts, the last on Saturday night when he held the Rockies scoreless on four singles for eight innings and didn’t allow a runner to reach second base.
Cueto is eligible to be a free agent after this season, and with the Reds well out of contention, they were certain to trade Cueto by the non-waiver trade deadline Friday.
“Johnny’s been a part of the organization for a long time and we have great affection for him not only as a player but as a person,” Reds general manager Walt Jocketty said. “So it’s difficult. But we’re in a situation that this is the best thing for our franchise now. There was a lot interest in Johnny, and we felt this was the best value.”
A native of the Dominican Republic, Cueto, 29, was signed at the age of 16 by the Reds in 2004 and reached the big leagues with them in 2008. He went 92-63 with a 3.21 ERA in his career with the Reds.
“I know it’s a good trade, but I’m very sad,” Cueto said, with Reds catcher Brayan Pena translating. “I’m very thankful to my teammates, my fans and my coaching staff. 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 are 59-38 and have the best record in the American League and a lead of 7 1/2 games in the AL Central. They reached Game 7 of the World Series last year, losing to the San Francisco Giants. Cueto said the move will be good for his career and for the Royals and was relieved that after weeks of speculation about being traded, a deal was finally completed.
“I feel much better,” Cueto said. “It’s easier for me now to focus on what I do best and that’s go out there and pitch. It was a little crazy for me because I didn’t know where I was going to end up and all the rumors and stuff. But finally, it’s over, and I can focus on what I do.”
Finnegan, who went to TCU and pitched in the College World Series last year, was promoted to the Royals in September and going 0-1 with a 1.29 ERA. He also made seven relief appearances for them in the postseason.
This season, Finnegan went 3-0 with a 2.96 in 14 relief appearances for the Royals. Finnegan also made seven starts and four relief appearances at Omaha and Double-A Northwest Arkansas. At Louisville, Finnegan will build up his arm strength and pitch count and go back to starting.
“Finnegan was the key guy for us,” Jocketty said. “He’s a guy who has proven he can pitch in the big leagues as a reliever, but we see him as a starter.
“He pitched two innings last night, which we watched. He’s up to 60 pitches. He’s kind of gone back and forth, starting and relieving. We see him as a starter, so he’ll stay at Louisville for a period of time.”
Lamb was a Pacific Coast League All-Star this season for Omaha where he went 9-1 with a 2.67 ERA in 17 starts. In 94 1/3 innings. Lamb allowed 80 hits with 29 walks and 96 strikeouts.
Reed began the season at high Class A Wilmington and went 5-5 with a 2.14 ERA in 13 games, 10 starts. At Double-A Northwest Arkansas, Reed is 2-2 with a 3.45 ERA. He has pitched a combined 96 innings this season with 26 walks, 84 strikeouts and 88 hits allowed.
Reds manager Bryan Price said of Cueto, “We hate to see him go. We know it’s part of what we need to do to get better, to get some younger affordable players. We have three pitchers that are going to be top guys in our future. It was a decision we had to make.”