At 59-38 the Kansas City Royal own the best record in the American League. With that said, a lot can happen over the course of the second half of the season and even though they hold a 4 game lead over the 2nd place New York Yankees in the American League, the Royals knew they had make some moves or fear other teams will and pass them in standings. The Royals acquired Cincinnati Reds ace Johnny Cueto.
Cueto heads to Kansas City
Despite being in first place, the Royals starting rotation has been one of the worst in the American League. It didn’t help when their ace James Shields left via free agency last offseason but Royals starters this season are last in the AL innings pitched per start, 11th in ERA, and 13th in strikeouts per 9 innings. Cueto has been great for the 43-53 Reds sporting a 7-6 record with an ERA of 2.62. His 130 innings pitched, nearly a strikeout per inning, and 2.62 ERA should all help the Royals in departments. Cueto is currently 29 years old and is in the final year of his contract. The Royals are hoping he can help bolster the rotation and get the Royals over the top.
The pickup comes at a great time as the Royals recently lost starting pitcher Jason Vargas for the season to a torn UCL which will need Tommy John Surgery. After impressing in his first full season in the majors, Yordano Ventura has been underwhelming with a 5-7 record and ERA close to 5. Cueto will join a familiar face on the staff in Edinson Volquez who pitched with Cueto on the Reds from 2008-2011.
This proves to be a minor blow to the New York Yankees as they had been eyeing Cueto. However, the Yankees are still in first place in their division and may have their eyes on another target.
from WordPress http://ift.tt/1D61Cz4
via IFTTT
No comments:
Post a Comment