Johnny Cueto Made His White Sox Debut Monday Versus Royals
A former two-time All-Star returned to the majors ahead of the Chicago White Sox’s series opener against the Kansas City Royals.
On Monday, the team announced it had selected the contract of pitcher Johnny Cueto and planned to start him during the first of a five-game series against the Royals.
Cueto, 36, had previously struggled to locate his next contract before agreeing to a minor-league deal with the White Sox last month. As part of it, he possessed the ability to opt-out of his contract by May 15. Obviously, that didn’t happen.
With both Lucas Giolito and Lance Lynn currently sitting on the injured list, the team needed to fill an opening within its starting rotation. Since Cueto’s opt-out date was set to pass, they decided it was best to provide him with an opportunity to pitch – and eat some innings – at the big-league level.
The 2015 World Series champion made his first start in the majors since finishing last season with the San Francisco Giants. He was granted free agency last off-season after spending the previous six seasons in the Bay Area.
Prior to the promotion, Cueto made four minor-league appearances at triple-A with the Charlotte Knights. In total, he logged 15 2/3 innings and allowed nine runs on 15 hits while striking out 17 batters.
He also surrendered a trio of home runs and four walks during that same span. Overall, he posted a 5.17 ERA, a 4.53 FIP and a .254 OPP AVG.
As part of the transaction, Cueto is set to earn a prorated $4.2 million now that he’s been promoted to the majors. His latest stint could potentially span beyond just one start as well.
Until Giolito and Lynn return from injury, which isn’t expected to be anytime soon, there are plenty of starts to go around in the South Side of Chicago. Even at 36, the veteran right-hander could fill a massive void at the backend of Chicago’s rotation.
The 5’11” hurler was once a highly-regarded starter earlier in his career, particularly with the Cincinnati Reds. Though, he went through a dramatic decline midway through his tenure with the Giants.
Last season, Cueto posted a respectable 4.08 ERA and 4.05 FIP across 114 2/3 innings in 22 outings with San Francisco. He also recorded a promising 6.1 percent walk rate and a 38.0 percent hard-hit rate against. Those metrics will play in the majors.
Cueto is no longer the same pitcher that finished as a runner up in the 2014 NL Cy Young Award race. And that’s OK. He doesn’t need to be that player anymore.
For a White Sox team that’s been riddled with injuries and has largely underperformed, courtesy of their 16-17 record, all they need is an effective innings eater. If things go smoothly, perhaps he can carve out a regular role in the big leagues.
So far so good for the Dominican right hander as he went 6 innings in his debut against Kansas City, allowing 0 earned runs, 2 hits, 2 walks, and striking out 7 in a no decision. Cueto threw 81 pitches on the night, 55 for strikes, in a game the White Sox would win 5-3 in extra innings.
Cueto will hope to carry this momentum forwards in his next outing, which currently figures to be against the league leading Yankees.
-Thomas Hall
Twitter: @ThomasHall85
Photo: Arturo Pardavila III. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.