Listen, we know it’s tough to catch up on everything happening in the baseball world each morning. There are all kinds of stories, rumors, game coverage and Vines of dudes getting hit in the beans every day, and trying to find all of it while on your way to work or sitting at your desk isn’t easy. It’s OK, though, we’re going to do the heavy lifting for you each morning, and find the things you need to see from within the SB Nation baseball network as well as from elsewhere. Please hold your applause until the end.
Say hey, baseball: Don’t forget about Johnny Cueto
Friday morning’s baseball includes Johnny Cueto’s contract situation, Jurickson Profar’s injury, and pace of play changes.
David Kohl-USA TODAY Sports
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Everything was James Shields this and now it’s Cole Hamels that. They aren’t the only high-level pitchers out there who can make a difference, though, and might not even be the best of them, either. The Reds’ Johnny Cueto, like Hamels, isn’t necessarily being traded right now, but he could end up having even more of an impact on the 2015 season if he is.
Cueto is a free agent after this year, and the Reds probably can’t afford what he’ll cost. They could if they wanted to, but they are only in the second year of Joey Votto’s 10-year, $225 million contract, which gets expensive in 2016 when it jumps from $14 million to $20 million and then all the way to $25 million annually over the last six years of the deal. The Reds spent $114 million last season before shedding payroll this winter: it’s hard to imagine them putting over one-third of their payroll on just two guys, because make no mistake, a healthy Cueto could pull in $200 million just like Max Scherzer did.
If the Reds are out of it mid-season -- and in a division with the Cardinals, Pirates, Brewers, and Cubs, this is not a stretch -- they could deal Cueto and likely get back far more than they would by simply giving him the qualifying offer and getting a late first-round compensation pick. Whoever gets Cueto will have one of the best pitchers in the game, one whose only issue has been staying on the mound -- and that might be an issue of the past considering he just led the NL in innings with 243.
Swinging a deal for Cueto could change the entire course of a season for whoever gets him, and there aren’t many pitchers like that out there, never mind available. It might take time for that market to materialize, but it’s coming.
- Jurickson Profar will undergo shoulder surgery after all, and his entire 2015 seems to be in jeopardy. Even the can’t miss prospects can miss sometimes, because baseball is evil and you can’t shut off injuries in the options menu.
- Profar might even have lost his opportunity to stick with the Rangers, as Rougned Odor and Elvis Andrus are now the middle infield of the present and future.
- By the way, Rougned Odor’s brother signed with the Rangers. His name? Rougned Odor.
- Giants’ manager Bruce Bochy was admitted to the hospital for a heart procedure, but it sounds as if he’ll be okay.
- The Dodgers don’t mind paying penalties for going over their international budget, so long as the right players are making them do it.
- Cole Hamels would accept a trade to the Red Sox! Now the Sox and Phillies just have to agree on who is paying what, what the proper prospect compensation is, if prospects should lead the return, if Hamels is going to force his option to be picked up therefore changing the entire nature of negotiations... You know, minor details.
- Jesus Montero was in trouble with the Mariners for his weight (among other things), but now he’s all slimmed down. Whether he can hit major-league pitching is still up for debate.
- Danny Espinosa spent his winter growing some serious facial hair.
- Breakout candidates often come completely out of nowhere, so let’s look at this list of guys you’ve never heard of to see if we can figure out who baseball is playing a joke on us with this year.
- There will reportedly be pace of play changes introduced in time for 2015, and none of these changes sound like they’ll infuriate fans.
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