Following an eventful 2015 in which he won a World Series with the Kansas City Royals after being traded by the Cincinnati Reds in July, Johnny Cueto is on the move once again, as he agreed to terms on a deal with the San Francisco Giants.
Buster Olney of ESPN was the first to report the deal prior to the Giants’ confirmation. SportsCenter on Twitter reported the deal was for six years and $130 million with an opt-out clause after two years. The Giants welcomed Cueto to the team with his very own emoji:
In the wake of the deal, Giants general manager Bobby Evans told Jerry Crasnick of ESPN the Giants are “still processing their outfield options” after the outlay on Cueto and Jeff Samardzija. Bob Nightengale of USA Today noted the Giants have spent $220 million this offseason.
ESPN Stats & Info noted the Giants are the first team to ink two pitchers to deals worth $90 million or more in the same offseason.
Cueto is slated to take his physical with the team Wednesday, according to John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle.
Cueto had one of the most unusual seasons for an elite pitcher in recent memory, as his splits between Cincinnati and Kansas City show:
Making those numbers even more mind-boggling is the situation Cueto found himself in following the trade, as the Royals had the best defense in MLB, and Kauffman Stadium is more conducive to pitchers than Great American Ball Park.
Despite the disappointing two-month regular season for Cueto in Kansas City, the 29-year-old likely regained some value in the postseason with two starts (vs. Houston and New York) in which he allowed a total of four hits and three runs with 12 strikeouts in 17 innings.
Using those two games as a barometer will work out well for Cueto, as Rany Jazayerli, formerly of Grantland, noted he did something that had only been done two other times in MLB history:
There will always be a risk factor with Cueto, given his health history. He made 11 starts in 2013 and needed an MRI last May to determine if there was any significant damage to his pitching elbow after missing a start.
ESPN.com’s Keith Law had Cueto ranked ninth on his list of the top 50 free agents, noting his new team “might get an ace” if his past elbow problems really are behind him.
Every contract contains an element of risk, though, especially for pitchers. But Cueto has earned a reputation as one of the best in the business with two top-five finishes in Cy Young voting since 2012, and that puts the upside of this deal as high as any hurler’s in this year’s class.
Cueto joins a starting rotation anchored by Madison Bumgarner and will slot in behind him along Samardzija, Jake Peavy and Matt Cain. While Cueto can be frustrating from time to time, he proved with the Royals that when the spotlight is brightest, he’s more than capable of rising to the challenge.
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