Rockies trade rumors: starting pitching edition

ATLANTA, GA – JUNE 19: Johnny Cueto #47 of the San Francisco Giants pitches in the first inning against the Atlanta Braves at SunTrust Park on June 19, 2017 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

Johnny Cueto of the San Francisco Giants has been a potential target for a few weeks now (and our own Kevin Henry talked about him more than a month ago in this article).

He has not pitched well in 2017 as he is 6-7 with a 4.51 ERA in 18 starts and 111 2/3 innings pitched. However, in 2016, he was one of the best pitchers in the National League as in his first season with the Giants, he was 18-5 with a 2.79 ERA in 32 starts and 219 2/3 innings pitched. He was an All-Star, sixth in the NL Cy Young Award voting, and 26th in NL MVP voting.

In Coors Field, Cueto has done well. He has gone 4-2 with a 3.43 ERA in seven starts and his opponent’s have hit .261 and an on-base percentage of .328.

He has an opt-out clause in his contract after this season and he most likely will use it. However, if he doesn’t, he is owed $21.833 million for the next four years as well as a team option for 2022 for $22 million.

Obviously, the Rockies would need to figure out whether or not he would exercise the clause as it would greatly determine how much they would need to trade away for him.

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