Knowing that they are a safe bet to win the 2016 World Series given their recent history in even years, the San Francisco Giants took steps to ensure a fourth title in seven seasons by signing Johnny Cueto.
Coming off a World Series win with the Kansas City Royals, Cueto agreed to a six-year, $130 million deal with the Giants on Wednesday, per MLB.com’s Chris Haft.
The even-year phenomenon was not lost on Cueto, who posted a special Twitter message to Giants fans on Wednesday:
On Thursday, the Giants unveiled their prized free-agent acquisition with Cueto meeting the San Francisco media for the first time.
Giants general manager Bobby Evans kicked off the festivities by expressing his gratitude to Cueto, per the team’s official Twitter account:
Evans also talked about how the Giants were able to land Cueto and Jeff Samardzija to bolster their starting rotation, per Steve Bitker of KCBS Radio:
After Evans got the chance to thank Cueto, the 29-year-old right-hander returned the favor to the team, per the Giants’ official Twitter account:
Cueto and the Giants officially unveiled his jersey and uniform number as well, per the team’s official Twitter account:
One of the big concerns around giving Cueto a long-term deal this offseason revolved around his health. He made just 11 starts in 2013 because of injuries, was briefly shut down early in 2015 because of elbow problems and struggled with a 4.76 ERA in 13 starts with the Royals after a midseason trade.
The discussion around Cueto’s health was certainly not lost on him, and he addressed it during Thursday’s press conference, per Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle:
Evans also discussed the injury concerns, per Andrew Baggarly of the Bay Area News Group:
After Cueto’s deal with the Giants was announced, he said one of San Francisco’s biggest stars got hold of him to offer a warm welcome, per the team’s official Twitter account:
Cueto has a high opinion of Buster Posey and all of his new teammates, calling the Giants a “team of champions,” per Janie McCauley of the Associated Press.
Things have opened up in the National League West with the Giants adding Cueto and Samardzija to their rotation behind Madison Bumgarner, while Zack Greinke and Shelby Miller joined the Arizona Diamondbacks as the Los Angeles Dodgers have surprisingly been relatively quiet.
If Cueto can pitch at the level he did in 2014, leading the league in innings pitched and finishing second in NL Cy Young voting, the Giants are going to be dangerous.
He’s been given a clean bill of health and ended 2015 on a high note with a complete-game two-hitter against the New York Mets in Game 2 of the World Series, so all signs point to a stellar 2016 campaign for San Francisco’s newest starting pitcher.
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