SAN FRANCISCO–On Tuesday night, Johnny Cueto will take the mound at AT&T Park. Don’t look now, but it could be the last time he does so as a member of the San Francisco Giants.
The overwhelming thought from the Giants is that Cueto will opt in for the final four years of the six-year, $130 million contract he signed prior to the 2015 season, but if Cueto does decide to opt out, Tuesday might be the last time he pitches at AT&T Park in a Giants’ uniform.
If the Giants keep their rotation in order for the final two weeks of the season, Cueto is in line to take the ball on the season’s final day when the Giants host the San Diego Padres. However, there’s a belief that the Giants will allow Matt Cain to start one of the last games of the year in front of the home crowd, which would bump Cueto off the schedule.
Does Giants’ manager Bruce Bochy think Cueto will return to the club next season?
“I plan on Johnny being back,” Bochy said. “That’s how I think. Trying to be optimistic and from what I know and what I hear, Johnny likes it here so we plan on him being back.”
The 31-year-old right-hander might opt out if he thinks he can find a free agent contract that pays him better than the $84 million the Giants owe him over the next four seasons, but after he missed a month and a half with blister issues and then forearm tightness, Cueto could have a hard time commanding more money.
If Cueto does decide to opt in, Bochy said he expects the Giants’ rotation to rebound after an up-and-down campaign in 2017. Aside from Cueto’s stint on the disabled list, the Giants also lost ace Madison Bumgarner to a shoulder injury while lefty Matt Moore dealt with the worst season of his professional career.
“You mention Johnny,” Bochy said. “Sure, he’s got some say in this, but I think it’s a really good rotation. Sure, we had some ups and downs dealing with the injuries and we probably weren’t quite the same staff we were last year but that’s going to happen. I look at this as the makings of a very, very good staff.”
Because the Giants have already announced they’ll pick up Moore’s option for the 2018 season, Bochy said he anticipates the top four arms in his rotation to remain the same next season. San Francisco could move forward with Bumgarner and Cueto at the front end, Jeff Samardzija sandwiched in the middle, Moore in the fourth slot, and then hold a competition during Spring Training to decide who begins the year as the team’s fifth starter.
Earlier this year, rookie Ty Blach appeared to be the leading candidate to start the spring in pole position for the Giants’ final rotation spot, but in the past month, fellow rookie Chris Stratton has overtaken Blach with a consistent approach that has made him one of the bright spots of a dismal second half. While prospects Tyler Beede and Andrew Suarez could get a look come spring, Bochy indicated Tuesday that Blach and Stratton will lead the conversation.
“It’s our rotation and of course you look at the job that Stratton has done and the job that Blach has done and you want to keep it competitive there, but those four guys are the mainstays of our rotation,” Bochy said.
Since returning from the disabled list on September 1, Cueto has yet to throw more than 5.1 innings, and in his last start against Los Angeles, he lasted just 3.2 innings while needing 101 pitches to navigate through the Dodgers’ order. Nevertheless, Bochy said Tuesday that the Giants are no longer concerned about Cueto returning to form after all the time he missed, as he believes Cueto looks like the pitcher he’s always been.
“I think he’s back to who Johnny is,” Bochy said. “Last start he had some horrible luck. But with that said, we have a job and a responsibility to go out there and keep showing who we are and be the player that they’re supposed to be and this is a start I think Johnny’s got to take serious and do all he can to help us win this ballgame.”