Report: Red Sox Interested In Johnny Cueto
BOSTON (CBS) -- One way or another, the Boston Red Sox are determined to acquire pitching this offseason.
Last week it was reported that the Red Sox will be major players for David Price and/or Zack Greinke, and it's now being reported that the interest does not stop there.
CBS Sports' Jon Heyman reported that Johnny Cueto rejected a six-year, $120 million offer from Arizona because the free-agent pitcher has fielded calls of interest from at least four other teams, with one of of those teams being the Boston Red Sox.
"Cueto doesn't appear to be the first choice of that quartet of big-market teams [Red Sox, Cubs, Dodgers, Giants], but with only two free-agent starters above him in the market hierarchy -- Zack Greinke and David Price -- with team needs outstripping the supply, chances are he'll have other opportunities and appears inclined to wait to see what they are," Heyman wrote.
Cueto, who will turn 30 in February, spent seven-and-a-half years with the Cincinnati Reds before being traded to Kansas City last July. He's averaged 28 starts per year, missing significant time only in 2013. He owns a 96-70 record to go with a 3.30 ERA, 1.181 WHIP, and a 2.86 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
In seven postseason starts, Cueto is 2-3 with a 5.35 ERA, but he managed to pitch a complete game in which he allowed just one run on two hits to beat the Mets in Game 2 of the 2015 World Series. Prior to that start, he had allowed 14 runs over 16 innings in the ALDS and ALCS.
