With Lance Lynn succumbing to a two-month stay on the injured list, the White Sox's pickings in free agency were slim.
By signing Johnny Cueto, they did the best they could.
Cueto's coming to the White Sox on a minor-league deal, more due to timing than talent. There is an MLB-caliber salary if he's able to ramp up and join the White Sox in short order, as he'll make a prorated form of $4.2 million. The deal also includes an opt-out if he's not called up by May 15, but given how precarious pitching seems to be around the league, Cueto's presence on the South Side seems more of a matter of "when" than "if."
The White Sox have not yet announced the deal because it's pending a physical, but Cueto did what he could.
Cueto has three top-six Cy Young finishes and a 20-win season for the Reds back in 2014, but his more recent form is less imposing. He posted a 4.08 ERA over 114⅔ innings for the San Francisco Giants in his age-35 season, which is fine, but that's coming off three less impressive seasons shortened by injury. He's spent time on the injured list with elbow and lat problems, so he'll likely need a generous extended spring training.
He's only throwing 91-92 these days, but he only threw 92-93 at his peak, relying on a kitchen sink of pitch types and deliveries. His ability to mess with timing limited the damage on a fly ball rate, because he's good for a double-digit pop-up rate just about every season.
The lead question here is whether he'll stay healthy. After that, it's a matter of whether he can keep beating back the tides of the league's rising velocity, and whether a smaller ballpark can be as hospitable to his brand. A look at his spray chart shows about dozen or so flyouts that would be at the fence or over in Guaranteed Rate Field.
Worst-case scenario -- at least the one where he reaches the majors in the first place -- Cueto's smoke-and-mirrors razzle-dazzle will get blowed up real good, in a way that makes Odrisamer Despaigne references more than ironic.
Best-case scenario, he's a clear upgrade over Vince Velasquez in the search for five useful innings, and the kid who imitated Craig Kimbrel's look-in will get a chance to anticipate Cueto's triple shimmy.
