The Giants will place right-hander Johnny Cueto on the 10-day injured list with a Grade 1 lat strain, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle was among those to report. They’ll make a corresponding move when it becomes official on Friday.
This will temporarily disrupt what has been an impressive rebound effort from Cueto, a former ace who didn’t pitch well in either of the previous two seasons. The 35-year-old has turned back the clock in the early going, though, having recorded a 1.80 ERA with a roughly average strikeout percentage (24.3) and a terrific walk rate (5.4 percent) through 20 innings. Cueto has also allowed just 13 hits – including three during a scoreless, 5 2/3-frame outing against his former team, the Reds, on Wednesday. He had to leave that start after only 68 pitches because of his injury.
The Giants do have a ready-made replacement for Cueto in free-agent pickup Alex Wood. The left-hander is scheduled to make his debut Sunday after missing the first couple weeks of 2021 while recovering from back surgery. Wood was supposed to bump Logan Wood to the bullpen, but both now figure to take spots alongside Kevin Gausman, Anthony DeSclafani and Aaron Sanchez in the Giants’ rotation.
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