San Francisco Giants: Potential Trade Deadline Targets

Johnny Cueto, Starting Pitcher, Cincinnati Reds

Jun 2, 2015; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Cincinnati Reds starting pitcher Johnny Cueto (47) throws a pitch during the first inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

The Giants pitching staff has been somewhat of a roller coaster ride so far this season. The team has had to battle with injuries to Cain and Jake Peavy in the early season. That has lead to prospect Chris Heston being called up. While Heston has pitched admirably, no one thought he would be with the club this early. Ryan Vogelsong has also been forced into the rotation, pitching inconsistently along the way.

Overall, the staff has pitched to a 3.76 ERA, 12th in the MLB, issuing only 149 walks, 11th in the MLB, but only striking out 369 batters, which ranks 20th in the MLB.

The staff hasn’t been necessarily bad, but the Giants can do well by adding another ace to the rotation. That is where Cueto comes in. One of the best pitchers in the MLB, pairing him with Madison Bumgarner atop the rotation would create one of the best 1-2 punches among pitching rotations in baseball.

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Cueto has pitched to a 3-4 record in 10 starts so far in 2015. He is sporting 2.90 ERA with 64 strikeouts and only 12 walks. He is coming off his first All Star appearance in 2014, and finished as runner up in the CY Young race. Cueto has had an ERA below 3.00 the past four seasons, and has become one of the premier pitchers in the MLB.

With the Reds not likely to be contenders by the deadline, the team will look to flip Cueto in fear that he will walk as a free agent for nothing. The Giants would need to pay top prospects, but it would be worth it for the caliber of pitcher Cueto is.

The only risk is if the team doesn’t win it all, they could be without Cueto and their top prospects, much like the Athletics were following the Jeff Samardzija trade. The Giants were willing to sign Jon Lester and James Shields, so maybe if the team has a deep playoff run Cueto will want to stay.

As for 2015, having Cueto and Bumgarner would be deadly atop the rotation and would assure many low scoring games. The Giants could become the favorite to win it all if they were able to trade for Cueto.

Next: Aroldis Chapman