The San Francisco Giants definitely weren’t through in the market for starting pitching this offseason after landing former All-Star Jeff Samardzija on a 5-year, $90 million deal.
According to Buster Olney of ESPN on Monday, the Giants have agreed to a deal with free agent righty Johnny Cueto.
Sources: Johnny Cueto has an agreement with the Giants, pending a physical.
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) December 14, 2015
Jon Morosi of FOX Sports confirmed the report, adding that the agreement with Cueto is for six years and $130 million with an opt-out clause after two years.
Johnny Cueto has six-year, $130 million agreement with #SFGiants, source confirms. Deal has opt-out after 2017. @FOXSports
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) December 14, 2015
Ken Rosenthal, also of FOX Sports, had reported earlier in the day that the Giants were pushing hard to land the 29-year-old.
Sources: #SFGiants making strong push for Cueto.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 14, 2015
The Giants’ offer beat that of the Arizona Diamondbacks, who offered Cueto a six-year, $120 million deal earlier this offseason that he turned down.
Cueto went 11-13 last year with a 3.44 ERA, a 3.53 FIP, and 176 strikeouts, winning the World Series with the Kansas City Royals after being acquired at the trade deadline.
The Dominican struggled immensely at times last season, which might make the idea of shelling out big money for him in the hopes that he can still be a No. 1 starter a dicey proposition. But an average annual value of about $21.6 million is certainly reasonable for a pitcher of Cueto’s caliber especially with lefty ace Madison Bumgarner sitting atop the Giants rotation and the arrival of Samardzija, a more-than-capable potential No. 3 starter.
Bringing Cueto into the Bay will go a long way towards helping the Giants return to relevancy in the National League after missing the playoffs in 2015.
After all, Giants fans, it is about to be an even-numbered year.
Image Credit: Peter G. Aiken-USA TODAY Sports
