Could the Toronto Blue Jays be in the market for more starting pitching depth?
According to MLB Scoops, the Blue Jays are interested in veteran right-handed pitcher Johnny Cueto…
#BlueJays interested in SP Johnny Cueto
— MLBScoops (@mlb_scoops) December 28, 2022
This, of course, is a random, unverified account on Twitter, so the rumour should be taken with a grain of salt, but MLB Scoops said that the Blue Jays were “heavily interested” in Chris Bassitt shortly before the team signed him to a three-year contract earlier in the month.
Cueto made his big league debut with the Cincinnati Reds back in 2008 and developed into an All-Star calibre starter a few years later. In 2015, he was traded to the Kansas City Royals as part of their push for the World Series, and he then inked a huge contract with the San Francisco Giants in free agency.
It looked like Cueto was toast a few years ago, as he had Tommy John surgery in 2018 and then posted a 5.33 ERA over 79 1/3 innings upon his return in 2019 and 2020 but he’s found a second wild since. Cueto put up a 4.08 ERA over 22 appearances for the Giants in 2021 and he posted a 3.35 ERA over 25 appearances with the Chicago White Sox in 2022.
He turns 37 years old in February so anything more than a one-year deal would obviously be a significant gamble, but Cueto could be a nice depth addition for the Blue Jays on an incentive-based contract.
They currently have Alek Manoah, Kevin Gausman, Jose Berrios, and Chris Bassitt pencilled …
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Author: Cam Lewis / Blue Jays Nation
