Rest, not surgery, needed for Cueto
Giants’ righty will rehab elbow for 6 to 8 weeks
PHILADELPHIA — The Giants on Monday split an odd sort of doubleheader that unfolded in two cities.
In the morning, they got a win of sorts in Pensacola, Fla., where one of the nation’s most renowned orthopedic surgeons told Johnny Cueto that he did not need Tommy John elbow reconstruction surgery.
At night, in Philadelphia, the Phillies hit four homers good for 10 runs and routed the Giants 11-0 to end San Francisco’s winning streak at four.
Jeff Samardzija and
D.J. Snelten each allowed five runs and two homers. Odubel Herrera victimized both, and a San Francisco offense that pounded Atlanta for 24 runs in three games went still against Philadelphia right-hander Zach Eflin and three of his mates.
“It was just an off night for everybody,” manager Bruce Bochy said, “for Shark, for Snelt and the offense.”
Samardzija’s shakiness over four starts off the disabled list underscores how much the Giants need the big boys of their staff to return.
Madison Bumgarner seems on track for an early-June debut. Cueto might follow a few weeks later, which is not what folks around the team expected to hear out of Cueto’s trip to Pensacola.
Dr. James Andrews diagnosed Cueto with an elbow sprain not significant enough to warrant surgery and recommended that Cueto strengthen
the ligament through rehabilitation. The prognosis for his return is six to eight weeks.
Bochy spoke to head athletic trainer Dave Groeschner, who accompanied Cueto and the pitcher’s agent, Bryce Dixon, to Florida. Groeschner told Bochy that Cueto was “ecstatic, excited and pumped” to avoid an operation that would have sidelined the 32-year-old for more than a year.
There is one huge caveat: Ulnar-collateral ligament rehabilitation often fails long term and pitchers require the surgery anyway.
Catcher Buster Posey, though happy with the news out of Pensacola, struck a reserved tone.
“You have to be cautiously optimistic because of the sensitivity of the area,” Posey said, referring to the UCL. “Everybody reacts differently to rest and rehab. Obviously, we’re hoping for the best outcome.”
Monday’s news does not preclude the Giants from investigating fallen Mets pitcher Matt Harvey, who was designated for assignment amid his awful performance on the mound and his unwillingness to accept a minorleague assignment.
The Mets are sending signals they think they can trade Harvey and are willing to pick up most of the roughly $5 million he is owed for the rest of 2018, after which he becomes a free agent.
In return, the Mets would want a decent player. If they can’t trade Harvey, he becomes a free agent whom many teams would try to sign for a prorated share of the big-league minimum.
A Harvey acquisition would fit the Giants’ modus operandi. They like reclamation projects and believe they have the type of team that can absorb players with clubhouse issues.
As for Cueto, Bochy said he was optimistic based on the medical reports he heard that
his pitcher could avoid surgery despite the pain that dogged him in prior starts.
“It’s really remarkable how he was throwing and how well he competed with the elbow soreness,” Bochy said. “That says a lot about him.”
Cueto feared the worst, according to teammates who spoke to him.
“When I talked to him, he was a little down and frustrated that he was going to have to have surgery,” outfielder Gregor Blanco said. “He wants to fight. He knows the team we have this year. He’s a gamer. He wants to win. He wants to be here no matter what.”
In other health news, two left fielders have had setbacks.
Mac Williamson flew to Pittsburgh to visit a concussion specialist after his symptoms returned while working out in Atlanta.
Bochy said that the club paused Hunter Pence’s rehab assignment with Triple-A Sacramento because of recurring soreness in his sprained thumb.