Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports tweeted late Saturday that sources told him and Fox colleague Jon Morosi a deal sending the stalwart right-hander to Kansas City was all but done when Cincinnati balked because of concerns surrounding the medical condition of one of the prospects the Royals were to deliver.
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Kansas City went to the World Series last year (lost to the Giants) and apparently are all-in again. Other big-name starters who might be available for the right price are said to include Cole Hamels and David Price.
Cueto tossed eight shutout innings on Saturday in his last tryout for teams looking to acquire the impending free agent. He’s also struck out 120 batters (8.27 strikeouts per 9 innings) and walked just 29 hitters (2.00 walks per 9 innings).
Cueto was 92-63 with a 3.21 in his career with the Reds. The Reds (43-52) trail the St. Louis Cardinals in the National League Central by 19 games and likely will continue to sell off significant pieces before the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline.
That’s bad news for the Twins for multiple reasons.
It is not yet clear what the Royals, who have baseball’s second-best record and the American League’s best, would give up for Cueto.
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It is unknown which players are being traded to Cincinnati in the deal, though left-handers Sean Manaea and Brandon Finnegan have been the rumored names to this point.
