Johnny Cueto #47 of the Miami Marlins delivers a pitch in the second inning. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
According to Jon Heyman of the New York Post, Dominican Republic right-handed pitcher Johnny Cueto signed a minor league deal with the defending World Series champion Texas Rangers.
Cueto, 38, was born in San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic, and has played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball with the Cincinnati Reds from 2008-15, the Kansas City Royals in 2015, the San Francisco Giants from 2016-21, the Chicago White Sox in 2022, and the Miami Marlins in 2023.
He was a two-time All-Star in 2014 and 2016, a World Series champion in 2015 with Kansas City, and led the National League in strikeouts in 2014.
Cueto signed with the Marlins to a one-year contract worth $6 million and included a $10.5 million team option for 2024 with a $2.5 million buyout.
Last season in South Florida, Cueto went 1-4 in 13 appearances and 10 starts and posted a 6.02 ERA, throwing 52.1 innings, allowing 35 earned runs, 17 home runs, 15 walks, 39 strikeouts, and a 1.261 WHIP.
He was on the 15-day injured list twice: on April 4, 2023, with tight right biceps, and on August 21, 2023, with a viral infection.
Cueto played between Double-A Pensacola and Triple-A Jacksonville during the 2023 season and went 0-1 in seven starts, posting a 10.24 ERA throwing 29 innings, allowing 49 hits, 33 earned runs, 16 home runs, seven walks, 14 strikeouts, and a 1.931 WHIP.
During the 2023 World Baseball Classic, Cueto played for the Dominican Republic national team in Pool D in Miami at LoanDepot Park. He posted a 0-1 record in one start, throwing two innings with a 13.50 ERA, allowing four hits, three earned runs, one home run, and two strikeouts. The Dominican Republic went 2-2 and lost to Puerto Rico 5-2 during the final day of group play on March 15, 2023, at LoanDepot Park.
In 2022, Cueto went 8-10 with the White Sox and posted a 3.35 ERA in 25 appearances and 24 starts with one complete game, throwing 158.1 innings, allowing 161 hits, 59 earned runs, 15 home runs, 33 walks, 102 strikeouts, and a 1.225 WHIP until he elected free agency on November 6, 2022.
Cueto was assigned to the Arizona Complex League on April 8, 2022, to start the year. He was promoted to Triple-A Charlotte on April 23, 2022, and went 0-1 with a 5.17 ERA starting in four games. He pitched 15.2 innings, allowing nine hits, nine earned runs, three home runs, four walks, 17 strikeouts, and a 1.213 WHIP before the White Sox selected his contract on May 16, 2022.
During his 16 seasons in the majors, Cueto has a lifetime record of 144-111 with a 3.50 ERA in 368 appearances and 363 starts with 18 complete games, eight shutouts, throwing 2,245 innings, allowing 2,080 hits, 874 earned runs, 249 home runs, 634 walks, 1,851 strikeouts, and 1.209 WHIP.