An ace is off the board. Heading into this year's non-waiver trade deadline, Reds righty Johnny Cueto and Phillies lefty Cole Hamels were seen as the two aces available for trade. It appears that one of them is off of the board. That means that Cole Hamels will be the focus of ace trade talk.
According to Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports, the first ace has been dealt:
Source: #Royals getting Cueto.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) July 26, 2015
The tweet occurred right about when Jim Bowden of Sirius XM said on air that he had heard Cueto was headed to the ballpark to talk with the Reds.
This comes a day after the Royals and Reds had a trade fall through. Cueto was slated to start Saturday, but the Royals and Reds had a deal. In a very odd situation, Reds pitcher Michael Lorenzen was called upon to start yesterday in place of Cueto. But the Cueto deal fell through due to a medical report, and Cueto made his start after all, pitching eight shutout innings.
Some feel that Tigers starter David Price could be available in a trade too, but Price has not been put on the market just yet. Tigers (and Little Caesar's) owner Mike Ilitch is 86 years old and he might not have another playoff run left should the team begin the rebuild. The Tigers are currently just one game below .500 and in the two-Wild Card-era, the Tigers may still have a shot at contention.
So, all eyes turn to Cole Hamels.
