With the exception of six Games at the end of his career with the California Angels, Gary Nolan was with Cincinnati for his entire career assisting them to consecutive World Series titles in the 70’s.
Johnny Cueto may have had an up and down career during his time as a Cincinnati Red but when he was up he was an elite pitcher who would finish fourth in Cy Young voting in 2012 and was the runner-up in 2014. That year, Cueto finished at the top in the NL in Innings Pitched, Strikeouts and H/9. Cueto’s record with Cincinnati was 92 and 63 with 1,115 Strikeouts.
The Cleveland Indians knew that Brandon Phillips had an abundance of skills but they gave up on ever seeing that executed at a Major League level. He was thus traded across the state to Cincinnati, where much to the chagrin of the Tribe, he became the player that he was pegged to be.