Ahead of Monday’s series opener in Kansas City, the Chicago White Sox purchased the contract of two-time All-Star right-hander pitcher Johnny Cueto from Triple-A Charlotte and selected infielder Danny Mendick as Charlotte. Cueto will start Monday’s game at Kauffman Stadium.
Cueto, 36, is 0-1 with a 5.17 ERA (9 ER/15.2 IP) and 17 strikeouts in four starts with Charlotte after signing with Chicago on April 8 as a minor league free agent. He will wear uniform #47.
The 5-foot-11, 225-pound cueto spent the entire 2021 season with San Francisco, going 7-7 last season with a 4.08 ERA (52 ER/114.2 IP) and 98 strikeouts in 22 starts. Cueto’s wins, IP, and strikeout totals were his highest since 2017.
Cueto has three seasons with 18+ wins, five seasons with 150+ strikeouts, and four years with 200.0+ IP. He is a two-time All-Star (2014, ’16) and led the 2014 National League with 242 strikeouts. Cueto is 135-97 with a 3.45 ERA (780 ER/2,034.1 IP), 1,710 strikeouts, 17 games completed and eight shutouts in 330 career games (329 starts) in 14 major league seasons with the Reds (2008 –2015), Royals (2015) and Giants (2016-21).
Cueto has made eight postseason career starts with Cincinnati (2010, ’12-13), Kansas City (2015) and San Francisco (2016). He helped lead the Royals to the 2015 World Series Championship after being acquired by the Reds in a four-player deal on July 26, 2015. Cueto allowed a run to two in a complete game win in Game 2 of the Fall Classic against the Mets.
He was originally signed by the Reds as an international free agent on March 8, 2004 as an 18-year-old from the Dominican Republic. Cueto is among the all-time leaders for Dominican-born pitchers in ERA (4th), wins (T5th), starts (6th), IP (7th), and strikeouts (7th). Among active right-handed pitchers, he ranks fifth in starts, wins, IP and ERA, ninth in strikeouts and 10th in win rate.
Mendick, 28, is .217 (5-23) with two doubles, a home run and three RBIs in 11 games over two stints this season with the White Sox.
The 40-man White Sox roster increases to 40. Third-base coach Joe McEwing will switch to the No. 99 uniform.