Johnny Cueto Returns to MLB for 17th Season

He hasn't pitched in the major leagues since last season (and it wasn't pretty), but 38-year-old Johnny Cueto is back for his 17th season, as he has inked a deal with the Los Angeles Angels. He is on the mound for them Wednesday night against the team he helped lead to the World Series title nine years ago, the Kansas City Royals.

A fun storyline for tonight's #Royals-#Angels matchup:

Starting for KC: @Lorenzen55
Starting for LAA: @JohnnyCueto

The two were teammates with Cincinnati in 2015. Cueto threw 8.0 IP of 2-run ball vs. Milwaukee on April 28, and Lorenzen made his MLB debut the next day. pic.twitter.com/K2V73erlGv
— Ian Kraft (@Krafty_3) August 21, 2024

Cueto, now 38, is facing off against a teammate of his earlier that 2015 season in Cincinnati, then-rookie Michael Lorenzen.

Cueto's last appearance in the majors, last September, did not go well. He posted a 6.02 ERA in 10 starts for the Miami Marlins. But it was just one year earlier that he showed he could still do it in the bigs, starting 24 games for the Chicago White Sox, with a 3.35 ERA. He had a nice 102:33 K/BB ratio in 158 innings.

Will the 16-year major league veteran hurler be an influence on the Angels' young players? No doubt, says manager Ron Washington... But in due time. Let's not rush him.

“I just want him to come in here and fit in," Washington said. "I’m quite certain some of those young kids will flock to him, and he’ll give them the information that they ask for. But as far as him coming up here today and influencing these kids, I don’t think you can do that right now. Because I can tell you, they don’t know who Johnny Cueto is. We know, but I don’t think they do."

He has a career record of 144-111, with a 3.50 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP, along with two All-Star appearances, and athat World Series ring from 2015.