Cincinnati Reds Seeing Mixed Results From Cueto Trade Haul
It’s been more than a month, but the reverberations from this season’s crazy trading deadline can still be felt. The MVP chants for Yoenis Cespedes are growing louder in Citi Field, the Texas Rangers are leading the American League West and the Toronto Blue Jays are flying high in the East.
There are other moves that made a lot of noise at the deadline that haven’t worked out so well—just ask Mike Leake about how his Giants stint has gone—or we won’t see the payoff until later, such as the Brewers and the success of their trade haul from the Carlos Gomez trade.
By now you’ve probably heard from several sources that Royals rental Johnny Cueto is struggling. Some of those sources may have been your own eye balls. Cueto was supposed to be the ace of the pitching staff down the stretch and ensure another World Series berth. It can be argued the trade may not have been necessary for the Royals, considering they had a 7.5-game lead in the American League Central—now they lead by 10 games—and had the best record in the league at the time of the trade.
For the Cincinnati Reds, however, the trade was absolutely necessary, and what the Reds got in return has produced mix results. The embodiment of that variety, and the most prominent name the Reds received, was pitcher Brandon Finnegan. Finnegan’s season has been inconsistent with a lot of ups and downs, literally: Finnegan has been shipped to a different league or team nine times this season, including six times in the first three months of the season. It’s no wonder it’s tough to make out what to think of his numbers.
That’s not the only inconsistency Finnegan had on his plate. He was constantly being switched from the rotation to the bullpen and back, so it had to be very difficult to get into a rhythm on the mound. He made 15 starts and four relief appearances in the minors and has made 16 relief appearances in the majors, which suggests the Royals, and now Reds, are trying to develop him into a starter eventually.
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One interesting comparison to make in regards to Finnegan is the White Sox’s Carlos Rodon. Both were dominant college lefthanders taken in the first round of the 2014 draft and both had the potential to make almost immediate impacts in the majors. In Finnegan’s case, he did make an immediate impact, pitching for the Royals down the stretch.
There were rumors Rodon would be used out of the bullpen the way the Sox used Chris Sale when he first got to the majors, but the Chicago switched Rodon to the rotation after three relief appearances and haven’t look back even though Rodon has taken his share of lumps. From May 9 to Aug. 5, a span of 15 starts, Rodon had a 5.17 ERA, 1.87 strikeout-to-walk ratio and hitters had a .364 batting average on balls in play against him. He gave up at least four earned runs six times in those 15 starts.
Yes, he struggled, but the Sox stuck with him, and look what he’s done with his six most recent starts: He has a 1.76 ERA, 2.73 K/BB and a pristine .230 BABIP. Now, this is hardly conclusive and there is no guarantee Finnegan would’ve had the same success, but it does stir the imagination to think what Finnegan could’ve done if given the chance to be a starter full time.
The second trade piece the Reds received was lefthander John Lamb. Lamb had nothing left to prove in the minors, considering he had a 2.67 ERA, 1.16 WHIP and 3.31 K/BB in 17 starts with the Royals’ Triple-A affiliate. After the trade, Lamb made three good starts for the Reds’ Triple-A affiliate and has been in the majors since. He’s gotten beat around in his seven major league starts with a 5.35 ERA, five home runs allowed and—brace yourself—a .396 BABIP. There is room for optimism, though, because Lamb’s FIP of 3.77 suggests he won’t get clobbered like this all the time and will be an effective pitcher once the bad juju rubs off. He’s struck out 10.22 batters per nine innings with the Reds, so he has the tools to get major league hitters out.
The third piece of the trade has turned out to be nothing but a positive for the Reds. Cody Reed, a 2013 second round pick, was having a great 2015 after a rough first full season in 2014. In 96 innings between High-A Wilmington and Double-A Northwest Arkansas, Reed had a 2.53 ERA, 1.18 WHIP and 3.23 K/BB. In the eight starts he’s made for Double-A Pensacola since the trade, he has a 2.17 ERA, 1.11 WHIP and 3.75 K/BB.
The full ramifications of this trade won’t be known for at least a year, considering the Reds also got future pieces from trading the aforementioned Leake and the Royals also dipped into their farm system to land Ben Zobrist. In the meantime, keep checking if Cueto gets back into form and enjoy some exciting September baseball.