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Royals Rumors: Johnny Cueto and Mike Leake Rumors Persist

By Joel Wagler

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Kansas City Royals rumors persist that the team is still targeting Johnny Cueto or Mike Leake of the Cincinnati Reds.

The KC Royals and general manager Dayton Moore may still be interested in a pair of Cincinnati Reds starting pitchers. Johnny Cueto and Mike Leake look to be the pitchers available and could be acquired in the right deal.

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Fox Sports and MLB Network baseball insider Jon Morosi reports the Reds are ready to move their two pitchers.

According to MLB Network baseball insider Joel Sherman, via Twitter, the Royals are one of the teams showing interest.

With Jason Vargas returning to the rotation on Tuesday, the Royals have six starting pitchers already, although none can be considered an ace, or even close to it, for that matter. Going into the game Sunday, Kansas City’s rotation ranked 12th in the American League in ERA, according to Fangraphs. 

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None of the Royals’ starters overwhelms statistically, although the numbers don’t look too bad in a couple of cases.

One of these guys will be out, and bringing in another starter via a trade would almost certainly upgrade the group in general. At first blush, Jeremy Guthrie looks to be the odd man out, but Mark Kantner of KC Kindom points out that Guthrie doesn’t look to be a candidate for replacement at this time.

Danny Duffy may have been the odd man out, but it will be hard to remove him from the rotation after his performance in Sunday’s game against the Chicago White Sox. He went a career-high eight innings. He didn’t allow a run while throwing 108 pitches until Ned Yost sent him out for the ninth. Duffy promptly gave up a home run.

Despite that, Duffy stepped up big time, saving the bullpen in a game following a doubleheader on Friday, then 13-inning marathon on Saturday. How do you demote a guy after that kind of game?

Both Cueto and Leake have better numbers than two-thirds of the Royals’ options.

  • Johnny Cueto – 6-6, 2.73 ERA
  • Mike Leake – 7-5, 3.95 ERA

The biggest issue is that both of these pitchers are free agents at the end of the season, and it would be hard to justify giving up prime prospects for either for roughly 15 starts. Of course, Moore and the KC Royals may be looking to improving the rotation with an eye on the playoffs.

MLB.com writer Richard Justice appeared on the MLB Network on Friday and said (paraphrased) that while the Royals were looking to add a starting pitcher, the chances they acquire Cueto are “slim”. Justice also mentioned he thought the Royals were confident in their current starters.

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Of course, Leake should be the most affordable of the two players. He should not command top prospects for slightly more than a dozen starts the rest of the way.

Cueto’s start on Sunday certainly didn’t help his trade value much. Unless the Royals are completely convinced he is healthy, they should stay completely away. If he is even a little bit unhealthy, the price is too high

The Kansas City Royals do have some trading chips. Kris Medlen will be joining the Royals bullpen this week, adding to that embarrassment of riches. Not only do the Royals need to make room for Vargas, someone has to go from the bullpen.

They have already jettisoned Jason Frasor, who had an ERA of 1.54, and veteran Joe Blanton (2-2, 4.50 ERA) has to be a prime candidate to be the next to go. Let’s assume that is a given, but which starter will be moved to the bullpen? Maybe someone can be moved in a trade.

Even if they designate Blanton for assignment, they won’t have room to move a starter to the bullpen. Who would go from this group?

This doesn’t even include Brandon Finnegan (2.96 ERA) and even Yohan Pino (.64 ERA in 14 relief innings), both of whom can be returned to the minors. 

So, who goes? Barring a trade, the Royals will have a major decision to make in next couple of days.

The point is, the Royals could trade a good bullpen arm and even a back-of-the-rotation starter as part of a deal for a rental player

The Royals rotation might be good enough to make it to post-season, but will it be good enough to survive a short series in the playoffs?

Of course, the Royals may need an outfield upgrade even more than one in the rotation. Second base probably needs to be addressed, but considering Omar Infante‘s contract, that is a pipe dream.

Until they make a move, or the MLB trade deadline passes, Royals rumors are sure to persist. Stay tuned for more Kansas City Royals rumors as they become available.

Next: Realistic Trade Targets for the Royals

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