Johnny Cueto had an opportunity to be perhaps the top starting pitcher once free agency began after the 2015 MLB season. Following a tremendous start with the Cincinnati Reds, the right-hander has watched his value plummet in just nine starts with the Kansas City Royals.
Trade rumors engulfed Cueto prior to the deadline. A number of clubs were interested in acquiring him, but the Royals offered up three prospects to the Reds and had executed (what seemed to be) the second-best set of deadline moves (behind the Toronto Blue Jays).
Cueto, 29, was looking at an enormous payday after going 7-6 with a 2.62 ERA, 0.93 WHIP and 120 strikeouts in 19 starts (130 2/3 innings) with Cincinnati.
However, he's just 2-6 with 5.43 ERA, 1.42 WHIP and 41 strikeouts in nine starts (56 1/3 innings) with the Royals. Rumors suggest he's losing out on some dough.
"When Cueto was traded from Cincinnati to Kansas City, one GM said, he was on track 'to get 160 or 170 (million dollars)' this offseason," Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports writes. "All it took to readjust that number down significantly, the GM said, were Cueto's last five starts, in which he gave up 48 hits and 30 runs in 26 1/3 innings."
The Royals are working with the right-hander to make him more comfortable, adjust some of his mechanics and take pressure off him.
"During the week, pitching coach Dave Eiland counseled Cueto on adjustments to both his delivery and his mentality," Andy McCullough of the Kansas City Star wrote after the Royals lost to the Orioles on Sunday night. "Eiland suggested Cueto lost confidence in the wake of his struggles, which caused him to attempt to manipulate the movement of the baseball with excessive movement in his delivery ...
"In conversations with team officials, Cueto revealed a sense of insecurity about his performance. He worried that he was letting down his new team, which had acquired him specifically to lead a charge back to the World Series."
All of this is especially bad for the right-hander because this year's class of starting pitching free agents features some of the best in the MLB. David Price and Zack Greinke (if he opts out) highlight those hitting the market, along with Jordan Zimmermann, Scott Kazmir, Mike Leake, Jeff Samardzija, John Lackey, Yovani Gallardo, Marco Estrada, Mark Buehrle and possibly Clay Buchholz and R.A. Dickey (if their team options aren't picked up).
Cueto is still among the best in this class, but his performance down the stretch in the American League as a member of one of the best offensive clubs in the MLB is hurting his negotiating leverage.
The only thing going for Cueto is that he cannot be presented with the qualifying offer because he did not spend his final season before free agency with the same club.
"A rough walk year is bad enough. A rough walk year compounded by a market-crushing qualifying offer can cost the player millions because teams are hesitant to give up prized draft picks," Passan adds.
However, this likely increases the market for Cueto, being that a majority of MLB clubs are hesitant to dish out long-term lucrative contracts to pitchers entering their age-30 season. If Cueto can be signed for less, many more teams will likely hop on the opportunity. Then again, if Cueto rebounds and has tremendous postseason with the Royals, all of this can - and likely will - change.
