Kansas City Royals: Looking back at Johnny Cueto trade two years later

The Kansas City Royals would go on to win the World Series in five games.

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Game 2 was the last time that Cueto would be rocking a Royals jersey while pitching and fans were okay with that. As great as he was in that game, no one wanted to see him pitch another game due to how inconsistent he had been during his tenure in Kansas City.

At the end of the day though, Dayton Moore and the Royals traded for Johnny Cueto to increase their chances of winning a World Series. Well, the Royals won their first World Series in 30 years just three and a half months after acquiring Cueto. I’d say that was worth it, wouldn’t you?

The three prospects sent to the Reds in exchange for Cueto have not panned out well as of now. Sure, Cueto didn’t stick around Kansas City after the World Series parade wrapped up, but the Royals definitely got the better end of the deal. Here’s further proof:

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• Brandon Finnegan, the Wild Card hero from 2014, has had problems with staying healthy. He’s currently posting a 4.15 ERA in just four starts with the Reds in 2017.
• John Lamb, a coveted prospect by the Royals at the time of the trade, was awful in Cincinnati. He had an ERA of 6.43 in 2016 and then was slapped with a suspension due to testing positive for drugs. He’s now pitching in the Angels minor league system.
• Cody Reed hasn’t impressed anyone in Cincinnati, currently sporting an ugly 6.43 ERA with the Reds in seven games this season.

It still doesn’t seem like it’s been two years since the Royals went all in and acquired Johnny Cueto, but here we are. Hopefully the Royals will make another run at a championship again in 2017.