Johnny Cueto Reportedly Agrees to 1-Year Contract with Marlins for $8.5M Guaranteed

The Miami Marlins have signed free-agent pitcher Johnny Cueto, according to Jon Heyman of the New York Post.

Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports it's a one-year contract with a club option for 2024 that guarantees Cueto $8.5 million.

Cueto spent the 2022 season with the Chicago White Sox, putting together his best season in more than half a decade. He went 8-10 with a 3.79 ERA and 1.23 WHIP while largely staying healthy. His 158.1 innings pitched were the 36-year-old's most since 2016.

“What can I say?” Cueto told James Fegan of The Athletic in August. “First and foremost, I want to thank God because I’ve been healthy. I feel good and feel healthy.”

Cueto found late-career success last season while significantly cutting down his strikeout rate and pitching to contact. After striking out 7.4 batters per nine innings over the course of his career, Cueto finished with just 5.8 per nine innings last season.

“I haven’t been trying to strike out too many batters because I want to go deep into the games,” Cueto told Fegan. “I know that for me, in order to do that, I need to find quick outs.”

Miami will hope Cueto is able to shore up the back half of its rotation as an innings-eater next season. It's unlikely he'll ever regain the form that made him an All-Star in Cincinnati, but if he can toss six innings of efficient ball, this should be a solid pickup.

The Marlins already have an impressive rotation of young starters led by Sandy Alcantara, but the latest addition gives the team some much-needed veteran experience. Heyman also predicted the signing could mean one of Pablo López, Edward Cabrera, Jesús Luzardo or Trevor Rogers will be traded to clear a spot in the rotation.

Despite the young talent, the Marlins finished just 69-93 last season and have made the playoffs just once since 2003.