Johnny Cueto, one of the San Francisco Giants‘ two big offseason acquisitions, is recovering from a possible concussion after being hit with a line drive on Monday.
Continue for updates.
Agent Comments on Cueto‘s Recovery
Tuesday, March 15
Jon Morosi of Fox Sports talked to Bryce Dixon, Cueto‘s agent, who said his client is “doing fine” and will follow up with the Giants staff on Tuesday.
Cueto Placed in Concussion Protocol
Monday, March 14
Cueto is being checked by team doctors for a concussion, according to Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle. He will be observed for concussion symptoms, per Schulman, but manager Bruce Bochy believes he’ll be fine. Alex Pavlovic of CSN Bay Area noted Cueto had a bump on his forehead but didn’t show signs of having a concussion.
A line drive off the bat of Billy Burns of the Oakland Athletics hit Cueto in the head, as Casey Pratt of CSNBayArea.com shared:
He would continue to pitch after trainers checked on him, but he was taken back to Scottsdale Stadium to be further examined, per Schulman.
Cueto Unable to Shake Injury Bug
Injuries have always been bubbling under the surface with Cueto, even though he’s been able to avoid a major problem in the past two seasons.
Cueto missed time early in 2015 as a member of the Cincinnati Reds with elbow stiffness, though an MRI revealed no structural damage, and he was able to return without going on the disabled list.
Injuries have slowed the 30-year-old throughout his career, as he’s crossed the 180-inning threshold just four times in eight seasons. When healthy, he’s one of the best pitchers in baseball, with two top-five finishes in National League Cy Young Award voting (2012 and 2014).
Cueto wasn’t his normal self after Kansas City acquired him last July. He had a 1.45 WHIP and 4.76 ERA in 13 starts following the trade, but he did end things on a high note with a complete-game two-hitter in Game 2 of the World Series against the New York Mets.
Losing Cueto would hurt San Francisco’s rotation, but the Giants are fortunate to have Madison Bumgarner as their ace and Jeff Samardzija to support him if Cueto indeed misses regular-season starts because of the injury.
This isn’t how the 30-year-old wanted to start his career with the Giants, but hopefully he’s able to rebound from this setback quickly.
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