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Johnny Cueto Could Return This Season

By Connor Byrne | May 18, 2019 at 7:29pm CDT

Giants right-hander Johnny Cueto is making quick progress in his recovery from August 2018 Tommy John surgery and could return this September, manager Bruce Bochy told reporters Saturday (via Kerry Crowley of the Bay Area News Group and Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic).

After Cueto threw a bullpen session, Bochy declared: “He surprised a lot of us with how hard he was throwing and command. He’s in great shape —about the best shape I’ve seen him to be honest. What you saw today, you’ve got a believe he’ll be pitching before the season is over.”

That’s a welcome bit of positive news for the Giants, who, at 18-25, are on pace for their third straight sub-.500 season. The team’s woes this year have come thanks in part to its disappointing starting staff, which entered Saturday last in the majors in fWAR (minus-0.5) and 25th in ERA (5.20). Only Madison Bumgarner and Jeff Samardzija have offered decent run prevention numbers to this point, though the latter’s peripherals aren’t nearly as encouraging. Meantime, 2018 success stories Dereck Rodriguez and Derek Holland recently lost their spots in the Giants’ rotation, while free-agent addition Drew Pomeranz floundered before heading to the injured list with a lat strain on May 9.

Going forward, it’s unclear which members of that five-man group will even be on San Francisco’s roster come next season. Bumgarner, the best of the bunch, is an impending free agent whom the non-contending team could trade this summer, and Holland and Pomeranz are on track to join him on the open market in the winter. With that in mind, someone will need to eat innings for the Giants in 2020, and if he’s at full strength by then, Cueto could be the top option on a Bumgarner-less staff.

Unfortunately for San Francisco, the 33-year-old Cueto has not been a durable performer since the team handed him a six-year, $130MM guarantee in free agency entering the 2016 season. The former ace did record 219 2/3 innings of 2.79 ERA/2.96 FIP ball in Year 1 of the contract, but he has combined for just 200 1/3 – including 53 in 2018 – since then. When Cueto was able to take the hill during that two-year span, he was nowhere near the front-end starter he used to be, evidenced by his 4.18 ERA/4.55 FIP. Nevertheless, the Giants can only hope for a late-2019 return and an immediate rebirth from Cueto, who has a guaranteed $47MM left on his deal (including a $5MM buyout in 2022) beyond this season.

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San Francisco Giants Johnny Cueto

JB Shuck Trying To Become Two-Way Player
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Health Notes: Tatis Jr., Upton, Price, Diaz, K. Davis
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10 Comments

  1. aussiegiants53

    6 years ago

    Only if he’s close to ready, working your way back on a non contending club probably isn’t the worst idea, especially when the Giants need innings

    Reply
  2. dimitrios in la

    6 years ago

    A likely bust from the day he signed w SF.

    Reply
    • Frisco500

      6 years ago

      Just as the doyers are a likely bust every October. See how that works?

      1
      Reply
  3. em650r

    6 years ago

    Return then get traded

    Reply
    • BudLightKnight

      6 years ago

      How they gonna move a contract that big?

      Reply
  4. Pickle_Britches

    6 years ago

    They dont need him to pitch this year. by the time he will be ready they will be 30 games out of 1st place. just save him for the next loosing yr

    3
    Reply
    • loach

      6 years ago

      Try googling “loosing” and it will ask “do you mean losing?” In this case, I believe the answer is “yes.”

      1
      Reply
  5. Pickle_Britches

    6 years ago

    The Giants are strait donkey scat this year

    3
    Reply
  6. willthethrill

    6 years ago

    This season is already lost with the lack of offense the giants currently have. They should just rest him for this season, and have him come back to full health come 2020.

    Reply
  7. O Conchobhair

    6 years ago

    You’re paying him either way. So play him and get rid of any rust. If he’s good he’ll be an asset. If not he’ll know what to improve on.

    1
    Reply

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