Johnny Cueto
Cueto is another solid righty on a long list of impressive starting pitchers likely to change teams this winter.
Prediction: Boston Red Sox, 6 years/108 million.
The Red Sox have been connected to Cueto for some time now, and they’ll have a good chance to land their man this offseason. Cueto has eclipsed 200 innings three times in his career, and isn’t far removed from a career best 2014 which saw him finish second in the NL CY Young balloting.
Cueto does not come with draft pick compensation, but does come with some risk. He has had some injuries over his career, with mid season elbow trouble giving everyone a scare last summer. Obviously, it wasn’t a big deal as Cueto pitched the rest of the season without any injury issues. He was, however, less than impressive in the second half, but fired his best ball of the year in a game 5 ALDS win vs. Houston and a World Series gem in game 2 this past October.
Historically, he does not walk many and usually pitches deep into games, as long as his health is in tact. Cueto should give a boost to a Boston rotation that struggled through much of 2015.
