Cincinnati Reds Trade Ace Johnny Cueto to Kansas City Royals

After weeks of trade speculation, Johnny Cueto is finally on the move, as the Cincinnati Reds have struck a deal with the Kansas City Royals, per Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal.

On Saturday night, the Reds and Royals reportedly had a trade in place for Cueto, but the deal fell through after a player going from Kansas City to Cincinnati didn’t check out medically. Cueto then went out and pitched eight shutout innings against the Colorado Rockies before trade talks with the Royals picked back up Sunday morning.

At this point, neither team has confirmed the trade, nor is it known who the Reds are receiving in return for their ace.

Per Yahoo Sports’ Jeff Passan, left-handed pitcher Brandon Finnegan, the Royals’ 2014 first-round pick who starred in the 2014 postseason, has been mentioned in talks with the Reds.

According to Fox Sports’ Jon Morosi, left-handed pitcher John Lamb is expected to be a part of the deal.

On the season, Cueto is 7-6 with a 2.62 ERA and 0.94 WHIP, while striking out 8.3 batters per nine innings against only 2.0 walks per nine. If the deal is ultimately confirmed, Cueto finishes his Reds career with a record of 92-63, a 3.21 ERA, 1.17 WHIP and 1,115 strikeouts over eight seasons and, for my money, goes down as one of the greatest pitchers in franchise history.

Update: Cueto is apparently still with the team and no deal has been finalized.

Update No. 2: The Reds have made the deal official, announcing on Twitter that Cueto has been traded for three left-handed pitchers in Finnegan, Lamb, and Cody Reed.

Next: Should Bruce be traded?