KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Maybe if some July text messages included different names and kinder missives, Friday’s matchup would be reversed. Johnny Cueto could be pitching for the Astros in Game 2 of the American League Division Series and Scott Kazmir for the Royals.
Both teams were going after the same thing as the July 31 trade deadline approached: a top-tier pitcher who could put playoff hopes over the top. The Astros talked with the Reds about Cueto just as they did the A’s about Kazmir.
“It’s a big responsibility for someone like me that gets traded to a contending team, to be able to bring these guys to the postseason,” Kazmir said Thursday.