PHILADELPHIA (AP) — San Francisco pitcher Johnny Cueto will be sidelined for six-to-eight weeks because of a strained right elbow and will not have Tommy John surgery.
The 32-year-old right-hander was examined by Dr. James Andrews on Monday in Gulf Breeze, Florida. Cueto will undertake rest and rehabilitation.
“It is great news,” Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. “I was hoping for the best and hoping he would not need surgery.”
Cueto is 3-0 with a 0.84 ERA in five starts. He on the disabled list for the second time this season. He missed two starts after spraining his left ankle in early April.
“It was really incredible how well he was throwing the ball with this elbow soreness that he’s been dealing with,” Bochy said. “There’s been nobody in baseball throwing the ball better than him. So, it says a lot about his toughness.”
San Francisco hoped Cueto had overcome the blister and forearm issues that caused him to miss six weeks last year, when he went 8-8 with a 4.52 ERA in 25 starts.
Cueto was 18-5 with a 2.79 ERA in 2016, making his second All-Star team, after signing a $130 million, six-year contract with the Giants.