The San Francisco Giants acquired another top-tier starter on Monday in Johnny Cueto, but what is it exactly that attracted them to the right-hander?
The Giants and Cueto have agreed to a six-year, $130-million deal, which comes on the heels of their acquisition of right-hander Jeff Samardzija.
"You have a guy that has a chance to be an elite presence on your staff," general manager Bobby Evans said of Cueto, who contributed to the Kansas City Royals' World Series title run last season.
In spite of an inconsistent second half of the season after being acquired by the Royals at the trade deadline, Cueto posted an 11-13 record with a 3.44 ERA in 2015. In his prior seven major-league seasons, all of which were spent with the Cincinnati Reds, the 2014 NL Cy Young runner-up compiled an 85-57 record with a 3.27 ERA.
"He's somebody that we've admired for a long time," Evans said. "We've seen him in the postseason and seen him throw a lot. He's not a guy you relish facing. ... You have a guy that has a chance to be an elite presence in your rotation if he's healthy and we can play good defense behind him and he uses our ballpark to his advantage."
Adding Cueto and Samardzija to a staff that already includes ace Madison Bumgarner, Jake Peavy, and Matt Cain renders the Giants with a formidable rotation after entering the offseason with uncertainty as to whether or not they could nab top talent from the free-agent market.
"With these two significant additions we made, it gives us a balance of five guys who can give us the starts and innings we need to protect our bullpen and give us the best chance to compete for the division [title]," Evans said. "That's the goal."
