Giants’ Johnny Cueto hopeful for late 2019 return
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — As Johnny Cueto sat in front of his locker Thursday, the Giants pitcher rolled up a sock and began flipping it in the air with his right hand.
Six months ago, Cueto couldn’t do that. Six months from now, Cueto hopes his surgically repaired right elbow will allow him to return to a major league mound.
The recovery process from Tommy John surgery is grueling, tiresome and often lonely. Cueto’s is no exception.
“Right now I feel like I’m ready but I know I’m not,” Cueto said through Spanish-language translator Erwin Higueros. “My frustration was at the beginning when I couldn’t move the arm to take a shower and everything. But right now I feel like any other pitcher.”
Under the best of circumstances, pitchers return to action 12 months after undergoing the operation that repairs the ulnar collateral ligament in the elbow. After months of suffering through terrible pain, the Giants announced Cueto’s decision to have Tommy John on Aug. 1, 2018. In August 2019, they hope to see Cueto make rehab starts before eventually returning to the major league level.
Several factors will influence whether Cueto pitches for the Giants in 2019. One consideration they’ll weigh is how serious their chances are of contending.
“We would love to see Johnny start,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “That
means we’re probably sitting in a pretty good position. But we’re not going to do something that doesn’t make sense with our medical staff and where he’s at.”
As pitchers and catchers throw their first bullpens of the spring, Cueto is hitting his own milestones.
On Friday, he’ll throw a plastic ball against a trampoline. Next week, he expects to pick up a baseball and play catch for the first time since his surgery. Though Cueto does desire to pitch this season, he understands there are no guarantees.
“If that’s the case, I would be very happy,” Cueto said.
“But they’re the experts, they know and when they tell me that I’m ready, then I’ll be ready.”
Though Cueto didn’t miss substantial time due to elbow pain until last season, he revealed Thursday that he has dealt with the discomfort for most of his tenure with the Giants.
The 11-year veteran signed a six-year, $130 million contract in the winter of 2015 and started the All-Star Game in his first season with the club. But even then, Cueto’s elbow was an issue.
“It’s a pain that felt like someone stuck a knife in your elbow and was moving it,” Cueto said. “It was unbearable and I don’t know how I was able to pitch and block the pain.”
During the first month of last season, no starter in baseball dominated quite like Cueto, who finished the month of April with a 0.84 ERA. By the time the Giants placed Cueto on the disabled list May 1 with an elbow sprain, the team knew the extent of the trouble.
“It’s impressive what these athletes are able to play through and block it out,” Bochy said.
Though Cueto said Thursday pain has flared up at various points over the last three years, he also missed a start with the Cincinnati Reds in May of 2015 due to elbow discomfort. An outing against the Royals was all Cueto skipped, and later that year, Cueto was traded to Kansas City and earned a complete
game victory in Game 2 of the World Series.
That offseason, Cueto signed a lucrative contract to join the Giants, who bet the free agent signee would age gracefully. While it’s clear Cueto doesn’t need elite velocity to succeed against major league hitters, he’ll miss most if not all of his fourth year in San Francisco due to an elbow that didn’t hold up.
Though the Giants expect him to be completely healthy upon his eventual return, Cueto did prove he could pitch through pain at a high level. And while it’s far from ideal, he isn’t the first major leaguer to have done so.
“Bob Gibson said he knew he was throwing his slider well when his elbow really hurt,” Bochy said.