Johnny Cueto

We spend a lot of time early in the free-agent season discussing good fits and where players would like to go. And then it still almost always comes down to which team offers the most money.

There is no shortage of talent in the Major League Baseball free-agent pool, and a World Series champion is starting to make some waves in the market.

Ben Zobrist came to the Kansas City Royals in a midseason trade with the Oakland Athletics and was rumored at one point to have both teams from The Big Apple interested him.

A former general manager in Philadelphia has become the first base coach in Boston (Ruben Amaro), a former GM who became an interim manager in Miami was fired and told he couldn't return to his old GM job that had been promised (Dan Jennings), and the GM who pulled off a second-half miracle in Toronto (Alex Anthopoulos) walked away from a five-year extension offer because he couldn't stomach work

The Toronto Blue Jays have a new team president, and some big additions are to be expected. A slight change in franchise culture could be on deck as well, and one free agent who would match their needs nicely is starting pitcher Johnny Cueto. 

The Kansas City Royals didn't trade for Johnny Cueto to beat the Boston Red Sox in August or the Baltimore Orioles in September.

Good thing, too, because Cueto gave up 15 runs in those two games.

Doesn't matter now, does it?

If pitching truly wins championships, congratulations to the New York Mets on their 2015 World Series title.

The Mets finished the season No. 4 in team ERA (3.45), an edge that carried over into October. Through nine postseason bouts, they sport a 2.81 ERA, accumulating 91 strikeouts through 80 innings.

Major League Baseball’s postseason can make stars out of the ordinary, and it can also legitimize existing ones. 

This year's postseason is no exception, as it has already produced wonderful storylines for the likes of Daniel Murphy, Alcides Escobar and the New York Mets starting pitchers. With the World Series starting Tuesday night, those angles could continue to develop, or give way to new players to perform in the spotlight when the Mets and Kansas City Royals meet in the Fall Classic.

The New York Mets didn’t want to leave any doubt in the minds of the casual fans. An 8-3 thrashing in Game 4 on Wednesday and a sweep of the Chicago Cubs meant they secured their place as the best team in the National League and a spot in the World Series.

The Toronto Blue Jays have been accused of stealing signs before but never on a stage as large as the MLB postseason. Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Johnny Cueto is reportedly confident the Blue Jays used the practice during Game 3 of the American League Championship Series.  

It has been the same problem all season long, and it was the No. 1 concern going into this postseason. 

The Kansas City Royals’ starting pitchers had been inconsistent at best. From Opening Day though the end of the season, that has been the case. October baseball’s bigger stage and brighter lights have done nothing to improve the outlook over the team’s first eight playoff games.