Johnny Cueto silenced critics on Wednesday night with a complete game, two-hit domination of the Mets in Game 2 of the World Series. Cueto pitched like last season’s World Series hero, Madison Bumgarner, but unlike the Giants’ ace, Cueto is making his postseason count.
No baseball fan will ever forget Bumgarner’s historic postseason run in 2014, but unfortunately for him, he timed his heroism poorly. Bumgarner signed a six-year, $35 million contract in 2013, and won’t be a free agent until 2020. So while his marvelous performance made him legendary, he can’t cash in on it any time soon.
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Cueto, on the other hand, can wipe away an entire second half of disappointing starts and maybe even hit $200 million this offseason if he gets an opportunity to clinch the 2015 Fall Classic for Kansas City. As of now, Cueto is slated to start Game 6; the series may not last that long, but if Cueto tosses another gem, he’s on his way to a payday.
His poor second half notwithstanding, Cueto was pitching at a Cy Young caliber this season, and he finished second behind Clayton Kershaw last year. Before being dealt, Cueto’s agent Bryce Dixon predicted Cincinnati would deal him because of his impending price tag.
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“He’d love to stay in Cincinnati if that works out, but obviously he’s pitched so well that he’s going to command such a high price that he might have priced himself out of a market like Cincinnati,” Dixon said.
This offseason, Nationals right-hander Max Scherzer signed a lengthy $210 million extension, and in 2014 Kershaw was inked to a $215 million deal. The price of pitching is going up, and Cueto can now boast of overcoming past playoff shortcomings.
He won’t be gassing up just one outing either. Cueto was clutch in Game 5 of the ALDS vs. the Astros, when he tossed eight innings of two-run ball. He also has a two-inning, eight-run disaster under his belt, but other aces have similarly bad outings too.
Cueto, 29, has also allayed some concerns about his durability. He has made 64 starts in the past two seasons, and threw 122 pitches. He threw at least 100 pitches in 22 starts in 2015, and threw 110 or more 11 times. Cueto also limits the long ball; per Fangraphs he allowed fewer than one home run per nine innings despite making 19 starts in the Reds’ bandbox of a ballpark.
Right now, Cueto is in line to make something in the neighborhood of $160-$180 million on his next deal. If he goes in Game 6, and pitches like he did in Game 2, he will be knocking on the Scherzer/Kershaw door.
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