For Johnny Cueto, the 'storm' has passed, and it pushed him to Kansas City

DENVER – Now that the "storm'' has passed, Johnny Cueto can focus on dealing with the heat of a playoff chase.

The Cincinnati Reds right-hander, the subject of numerous trade rumors as the July 31 deadline approached, was sent to the Kansas City Royals on Sunday for a package of three left-handed pitchers currently in the minors, headlined by Brandon Finnegan.

The deal ended a turbulent stretch of uncertainty for Cueto, who endured two rough starts before returning to form with eight shutout innings in a 5-2 victory over the Colorado Rockies on Saturday night.

"Now I can just play baseball without any worries,'' Cueto said moments after the trade was finalized. "There was this storm swirling around me, whether I was going to get traded here or there, and now that it's gone I feel better.''

There was some confusion Saturday as to whether Cueto would make his start, and reports surfaced later that a trade to Kansas City had fallen through because of medical concerns about one of the players the Reds were to receive.Kansas City, which leads the AL Central and is coming off a World Series appearance, had been a likely destination for Cueto for some time, and became an even more ardent pursuer after demoting former ace Yordano Ventura and losing lefty Jason Vargas to a season-ending injury last week.

Cincinnati general manager Walt Jocketty said two other clubs were still vying for Cueto's services until late Saturday, and the deal with the Royals was finalized Sunday morning.

"We got three quality left-handed pitchers we think very highly of,'' Jocketty said. "There was a lot of interest in Johnny and we felt this was the best value we'd get.''

In Cueto, the Royals are acquiring a legitimate ace, a 2014 All-Star who finished second in the NL Cy Young Award voting last year and has fashioned ERAs below 2.85 each of the last five seasons. This year he's 7-6 with a 2.62 ERA in 19 starts.

"Johnny Cueto is a top five pitcher in the major leagues,'' Reds veteran Skip Schumaker said. "I played with Chris Carpenter, Adam Wainwright, (Zack) Greinke and (Clayton) Kershaw, and Johnny's in that category.''

He was also a lifelong Red, having signed with the organization as an 18-year-old out of the Dominican Republic in 2004. That longevity and Cueto's comfort in his surroundings made the past few weeks unsettling and Sunday's news bittersweet, even though he's going to a World Series contender.

"It's a good trade, but it's hard,'' Cueto said. "I feel sad about leaving my teammates, the staff and the fans, who have always loved me.''

The Reds, who reached the playoffs in 2012 and 2013, find themselves in the rare position of being sellers at this stage – right-hander Mike Leake and closer Aroldis Chapman have also been the subject of trade rumors – as they started the day in fourth place in the NL Central at 43-52.

Besides Finnegan, who last season became the first pitcher to appear in the College World Series and the major league World Series in the same year, Cincinnati received Class AAA pitcher John Lamb and Class AA lefty Cody Reed.

Finnegan, 22, has spent time in the majors and minors this season.

"Finnegan obviously was a key guy for us, because we had interest in him in the draft last year,'' Jocketty said. "He's a guy who has proven he can pitch already in the major leagues. We see him as a starter.''

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