Why You Shouldn't Freak Out in June About Cueto's Opt-out

SAN FRANCISCO - There's a very important fact you need to keep in mind when talk of Johnny Cueto's opt-out comes up, as it so often will over the next six weeks: The Giants always expected him to opt-out after this season, from the moment the ink was dry on the six-year, $130-million contract. 

When you sign at the top of your game and have a chance to hit the market at 31 years old and cash out a second time, you take it. Those are just the rules of professional sports. On the day Cueto was introduced, his agent, Bryce Dixon, said the two-year opt-out was important because they felt Cueto didn't get a totally fair shot at free agency. 

"Johnny, a little bit unfairly, had a lot of questions about his arm," Dixon said in December of 2015. "I felt we could reestablish his actual value … He knows he's as good as (David) Price and (Zack) Greinke, but his situation was a little different."

The Giants were fine with this, too. The flip side of the opt-out is that if you have the chance to pay a dominant right-hander $46 million over two years, and then escape his mid- to late-thirties, you do it. Every time. You don't even blink. 

So, here we are, in June of the second year of that deal, with reports that Cueto will opt out. You should take a deep breath because you should have already expected this. But if you didn't, take comfort in this: By all indications, Cueto has not made a decision, even with the Giants having an unimaginably poor season. 

First of all, Cueto can't make a decision in June. What if the blisters return and he repeats his April ERA a couple more times? What if his elbow starts barking? There are no guarantees with pitchers, and until Cueto gets through the second season, there will be no finality with his decision. 

Aside from the fact that he really can't make that decision, though, sources insist Cueto hasn't made up his mind or even thought much about it. People familiar with his thinking continue to say the focus has been baseball all season long, from spring training through his last start. 

Cueto is said to be happy in San Francisco and he enjoys pitching in front of the crowd at AT&T Park. His biggest concern has been wins and losses, and in that respect, this has been a disappointing year for all involved. 

That record has brought the Giants to a crossroads, and this is where it gets interesting. The easy solution is to trade Cueto next month, avoid the opt-out situation entirely, and add prospects to a system lacking them. But, it's complicated. The Giants do not intend a full teardown, and if they're going for it again in 2018 - with their core of Buster Posey, Brandon Crawford, Madison Bumgarner, etc. locked in, that's the plan - they'll want that second ace at the top of the rotation. And if Bumgarner doesn't return to form after an injury, they'll need Cueto's presence. 

The Giants have until July 31 to decide what to do with Cueto. He has until three days after the World Series ends to decide what to do with his contract. Here in June, by all indications, those decisions haven't been made. 

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