Programming Note: Watch Johnny Cueto's introductory press conference LIVE on Thursday at 11:30am on CSN Bay Area and streaming on CSNBayArea.com
SAN FRANCISCO -– The San Francisco Giants have signed free agent right-handed pitcher Johnny Cueto to a six-year contract through 2021, with a club option for 2022, club Senior Vice President and General Manager Bobby Evans announced today. Per club policy, financial terms were not disclosed.
Cueto, 29, combined to go 11-13 with a 3.44 ERA (81 ER, 212 IP) along with 176 strikeouts and 46 walks in 32 starts (two complete games) with the Cincinnati Reds and Kansas City Royals last season. The 2014 All-Star was acquired by the Royals on July 26 and helped the club win their first World Series championship in 30 years by going 2-1 with a 5.40 ERA (15 ER, 25.0 IP) in four starts during the Postseason.
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Since the start of 2011, Cueto's 2.71 ERA is second-lowest among Major League pitchers, trailing only Clayton Kershaw's 2.11 mark, while his 3.30 career ERA is sixth-lowest among all active pitchers that have worked at least 1,000 innings.
He had a tremendous 2014 season, finishing second in the National League Cy Young Award voting and 12th in voting for the league’s Most Valuable Player. He became the first Reds pitcher to record 20 wins in a season since Danny Jackson in 1988, while he was just the sixth Dominican-born hurler to win 20 or more games in a single season. He went 20-9 with a 2.25 ERA with 242 strikeouts in 243.2 innings in 2014, leading the Senior Circuit in starts (34), innings pitched, opponents’ batting average (.194) and tied for the league lead in ERA.
The eight-year Major League veteran owns a 96-70 record with a 3.30 ERA (520 ER, 1420.1 IP) in 226 career starts with the Reds (2008-15) and Royals (2015). He's posted a 19-12 record and a 2.87 career ERA (78 ER, 245 IP) in 38 starts against National League West clubs.
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