Wednesday was a day about planning for the future. While the Giants acquired Scooter Gennett and a backend reliever in Dan Winkler, most of the team’s trades – sending Drew Pomeranz and Ray Black to the Milwaukee Brewers, Mark Melancon to the Atlanta Braves, Sam Dyson to the Minnesota Twins – were about the long term. In total, the team acquired five minor leaguers (with one trade that sent minor league pitcher Jacob Lopez to the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for minor league outfielder Joe McCarthy).
But the future also includes Johnny Cueto, who has at least another two years and $42 million on his contract (with a third-year club option according to Spotrac) and is recovering from Tommy John surgery last season. He is on pace to return for the Giants some time late in the season, possibly in August or September.
He posted the video above from Scottsdale, Arizona, where he faced live batting in his process of increasing his workload.
A little piece to note: Pedro Martinez wants Cueto to call him, writing in the comments, “llamame manito” (which translates to “call me little man” – little man being an informal, friendly term, not Martinez insulting Cueto’s height). Martinez is Cueto’s “idol,” as his agent said in 2015.