Veteran right-hander Johnny Cueto, who signed a minor league contract with the Rangers in late April, had an early-June opt-out chance, but has agreed to put his out dates back. Ari Alexander of KPRC-2 reports.
Cueto’s opt-out dates are currently June 14 and July 1. If he is not on the roster by either date, Cueto has the option of triggering the clause, which gives Texas 48 hours to add him to the big league roster or release him.
The 38-year-old Cueto is hoping to return from his poor performance in Miami last year, when he appeared in 13 games (10 starts) for the Marlins and posted an unflattering 6.02 ERA. The right-hander’s 17.9% strikeout rate was actually higher.
His walk rate jumped from 5.1% with the 2022 White Sox to 6.9% last year, and despite working in a pitcher-friendly loanDepot Park setting, Cueto’s staggering 2.92 homers per nine innings were a career-worst mark (and the highest of any pitcher in MLB who tossed at least 50 innings).
Cueto has made four minor league starts with the Rangers: one at their Rookie-level affiliate in the Arizona Complex League and three with Triple-A Round Rock. Combined, he’s totaled 18 innings with a 2.50 ERA, a 20.5% strikeout rate and a microscopic 2.7% walk rate (two walks, 73 batters faced). He’s also kept the ball on the ground at a hefty 55.3% clip.
It’s a tiny sample of work against lesser competition, but the results are nevertheless broadly encouraging. Texas clearly wasn’t ready to add Cueto to the big league roster just yet but presumably has interest in doing so — hence the mutual agreement to extend the opt-out window.
It’s only natural for the Rangers to want to preserve the depth and perhaps take a look at Cueto sooner than later, given the mounting number of injuries among the team’s big league staff.
The Rangers were aware that Jacob deGrom, Max Scherzer, and Tyler Mahle would all miss significant amounts of time this season. Mahle (an offseason signee) and deGrom are healing from 2023 Tommy John surgery. Scherzer had back surgery in December.
Texas has subsequently lost left-hander Cody Bradford to a ribcage stress fracture, and Jon Gray was recently placed on the 15-day injured list due to a groin injury. Right-handers Nathan Eovaldi and Dane Dunning both had IL stints due to groin and shoulder strains, respectively, but both returned to the rotation in late May.
Currently, the Rangers’ starting lineup features Eovaldi, Dunning, Michael Lorenzen, Andrew Heaney, and minor league signee Jose Ureña. Despite Ureña’s shaky track record and Lorenzen’s late signing, the quintet has produced consistent performances overall. However, the depth beyond these five names is questionable.
Former No. 2 overall choice Jack Leiter has pitched well in seven Double-A appearances this season, but he has also allowed 17 earned runs in his first three big league starts, totaling 9 1/3 innings. He’s only 24, so he has lots of time to straighten things out, but he doesn’t appear to be ready for MLB competition just yet.
Fellow righties Owen White and Cole Winn were each listed as top pitching prospects at one point, but neither has offered enough cause to believe he can be a solution at this time. Winn, a former No. 15 overall pick, was demoted to the bullpen and struggled in 11 Major League Baseball appearances this season. White has a 4.69 ERA in eight Triple-A starts, with a low 15.8% strikeout rate and a high 11.3% walk rate.
The Rangers hope Gray will just need a brief stint on the injured list, allowing him to return quickly, but a setback for him or an injury elsewhere in the major league rotation would be extremely worrisome. Keeping Cueto around provides Texas a another option.
