The Toronto Blue Jays have shown interest in Chicago White Sox starting right-handed pitcher Johnny Cueto in MLB free agency two weeks after he changed his Twitter profile picture to a throwback Cincinnati Reds photo, sources told Sportsnet Blue Jays reporter Ben Nicholson-Smith.
Johnny Cueto posted an 8-10 MLB record in 25 games played and 24 games started, earning 102 strikeouts and 59 earned runs allowed in 158.1 innings pitched for the White Sox before the Blue Jays showed interest in free agency. The right-hander signed a one-year minor league deal up to $4.2 million, with the potential for reductions in pay based on the days he would spend in the minor leagues.
“He's a pitcher as opposed to a thrower,” White Sox manager Tony La Russa said in April. “It's an exciting move.
“We're looking forward to it. We're anxious to get him here and the (Charlotte Knights). It's a very positive move for us.”
Johnny Cueto earned two All-Star selections in 2014 and 2016 with the Cincinnati Reds and San Francisco Giants, respectively. He combined for a 38-14 record in-between the two years, earning as high as second place in National League Cy Young voting and 12th in NL MVP voting in 2014 after he pitched for a career-high 242 strikeouts on 961 batters faced.
Johnny Cueto All-Star performances earned him a six-year, $130 million deal with the Giants in 2016, a deal that included a $5 million signing bonus and a club option in 2022. The deal exceeded the $120 million deal the Arizona Diamondbacks initially put in for the then-30-year-old pitcher. The Giants worked to pair Cueto with All-Star Jeff Samardzija that same year, signing him to a five-year, $90 million one day after the Greinke deal.
“With these two significant additions we made, it gives us a balance of five guys who can give us the starts and innings we need to protect our bullpen and give us the best chance to compete for the division title,” Giants general manager Bobby Evans said in a 2015 conference call. “That's the goal.”
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