Johnny Cueto has spurred trade rumors after his dominant performance last night against the Washington Nationals. The usual suspects popped up in trade discussions regarding Cueto's potential destination, but many may have forgotten about a candidate north of the border.
The Toronto Blue Jays are 1.5 games behind the New York Yankees for first place in the AL East and comfortably lead the MLB in runs scored. The problem has been their pitching, which ranks 23rd in the league with a 4.16 ERA and 25th with a 4.47 starter's ERA.
General manager Alex Anthopoulos understands where the club is lacking and made it known he's not going to hesitate to make a trade. The trade market for starting pitching is expected to be one of the most plentiful in recent memory, which gives the Blue Jays countless opportunities to make an upgrade.
"One of the pitchers that could be made available in the next 23 days is Johnny Cueto of the Cincinnati Reds," ESPN Insider Buster Olney said on the Baseball Tonight Podcast.
"He is probably going to be the best pitcher to move and I think he will move and I think the Reds should move him," added Olney's guest, ESPN Insider Tim Kurkjian.
"I would put the Toronto Blue Jays at No. 1 to get Cueto because I think they're especially motivated," Olney continued. "They haven't made the playoffs since 1993. It feels like that they're in a position where they could be aggressive and Cueto would be an absolutely perfect fit for them."
Fellow ESPN Insider Jim Bowden is confident Anthopoulos will land a piece before the deadline.
"The Jays need a starting pitcher -- see a theme here? -- and a top-notch reliever, but probably don't have enough budget space to get both of those. They have a strong farm system and one of the game's most aggressive GMs (Alex Anthopoulos), and I think they'll deal a prospect (or two) to get a starter."
Last week we addressed the rumors that found Toronto to be interested in Chicago White Sox right-hander Jeff Samardzija, but he's been struggling this season and an argument could be made that such an acquisition wouldn't entirely propel the Blue Jays into the postseason discussion. After all, the New York Yankees, Baltimore Orioles and Boston Red Sox could all be active on the trade market and are in need of a starter as well, so the Jays would benefit in more ways than one if they landed Cueto.
It's all dependent on how much Toronto would be willing to give up compared to other suitors on the market.
"We certainly have the players. The only thing that's going to be holding us back from a deal is do we want to pay the price in terms of players," Anthopoulos told Jeff Simmons of Sportsnet.ca. "I have all the confidence in the world we have the players to get a deal done. It's just a matter of how much it's going to hurt. We realize we have to give up some of those guys and we're prepared to do it. Ultimately it's a matter of how deep you want to cut."
The Blue Jays are continuing to do more homework on Cueto, too.
#Yankees #Orioles #Bluejays had scouts in to watch Cueto last night #Reds
— Joel Sherman (@Joelsherman1) July 8, 2015
It's going to be a grind until the final minute before 4:00 p.m. ET on July 31. No team has declared themselves a seller yet and the market may not fully blossom for another two weeks, which has buyers like Toronto waiting for the appropriate moment to strike.
"In season though, timing is huge," Anthopoulos added. "Within two or three days or a week, someone's value can skyrocket so if you have a chance to close (on a deal), you better do it fast."
Well, Cueto's value is perhaps the highest it's been all year after his last two dominant outings. Timing may not be of the essence here - Anthopoulos may just have to give the Reds an offer they can't refuse if Cueto is on his radar.
