It may be time for the San Francisco Giants to consider shutting Johnny Cueto down for the season.
After the ex-All-Star righty gave up four earned runs in four innings to take the loss against the Milwaukee Brewers on Saturday, he gave some concerning quotes about his health and about his troublesome right elbow in particular.
“I keep telling you guys and keep telling myself I’m fine, but in reality I’m not” said Cueto through his interpreter, per Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area.
“It’s very difficult. It’s very hard to get loose,” he continued. “I feel very bad.”
Cueto also said that he still feels pain “every time I throw a pitch.” Pavlovic added that the 32-year-old will meet with team doctors on Sunday morning.
After going 3-0 with a sparkling 0.84 ERA in his first five starts of the year, Cueto landed on the DL with what was termed a “sprain” of the elbow and missed over a month. In four starts since coming back, he’s allowed 16 earned runs in 21 innings pitched and has had noticeably decreased velocity.
While Cueto’s situation isn’t nearly as bad as that of this fellow Giants pitcher, the team has to be extremely concerned about his health right now, especially since they still owe him $21 million a year through the 2021 season.
