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Former All-Star starter may have given a clue that his Angels debut could come soon

Eric Cole
Eric Cole

Halo Hangout

Miami Marlins v New York Mets - Game Two / Elsa/GettyImages

When the Los Angeles Angels signed Johnny Cueto to a minor league deal a couple weeks ago, it didn't move the needle for many that follow the team. While Cueto was certainly one of the best pitchers in baseball a decade or so go, he hasn't been that guy for a long time and he has struggled to stay in the league for several years now after multiple injuries (and Father Time) robbed him of his previous stuff.

After a stint with the Rangers this season that saw him post a 5.92 ERA at Triple-A before opting out of his deal, LA scooped him up to provide some rotation depth in the minors. While most probably thought that it was unlikely that Cueto would see time in the majors barring a total trade deadline teardown (which didn't happen) or injuries in the rotation.

However, Cueto's Instagram seems to indicate that he may be joining the Angels in New York as we speak and that raises some interesting questions.

Johnny Cueto's return to the big leagues with Angels may have an interesting motivation

To be clear, all that is known is that Cueto seems to be on his way to New York City. However, it is a pretty big coincidence that the Angels are about to start a series against the Yankees in New York. What we don't know is what exactly Cueto is going to be doing with the Angels in New York and why.

There is a real likelihood that Cueto is just heading to New York to be on the Angels' taxi squad as an insurance policy which, given the Angels' injury luck this season, probably isn't the worst idea in the world. There is also a chance that he is in New York to either be the Angels' extra man on the roster for the doubleheader, or that an Angels pitcher is dealing with an unknown injury. However, there could be something more basic at work here.

Assuming it is true that Cueto does have an opt-out in his deal with the Angels on Aug. 15, the timing here makes sense. With their 2024 season going nowhere, LA may feel as though that they don't want to start the service clock on a guy like Caden Dana yet if they don't have to. Bringing Cueto up would preserve that rotation depth for the rest of the season at little cost even though he probably isn't going to light the world on fire.

We should get some clarity soon with the doubleheader set to begin, but this is a fun wrinkle to what has otherwise been a disappointing season.

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Eric Cole

Eric Cole

I started my career writing about baseball covering the Atlanta Braves for SB Nation's Talking Chop back in 2015 which has since been renamed Battery Power. After years of writing for those fine folks, I made the decision to take over as Site Expert at House That Hank Built before becoming a full-time MLB Staff Writer for FanSided in 2023. Along the way, I have been a guest on multiple ESPN radio affiliates as well as 680 The Fan and 92.9 The Game to discuss Braves baseball and especially Braves prospects and was a long-time host on the Battery Power podcast. These days, I continue to write about the Braves as well as covering the Astros, Padres, and Angels with particular expertise with minor league coverage, the MLB Draft, and bashing Anthony Rendon when possible. When I am not writing about or talking about baseball (which is seldom), I am an avid baseball card collector (Maddux and Soroka being my primary personal collections) and I also collect shark teeth. All other sports are mostly dead to me as my Bills have broken my heart too many times.