Miami Marlins Make Decision on Veteran Pitcher Johnny Cueto

The Miami Marlins, currently holding the top spot in the National League wild card race, are not ready to bring up veteran right-hander Johnny Cueto yet.

The following update comes from the Rotowire fantasy baseball portal:

Cueto (biceps/ankle) is scheduled to make another rehab start Monday with Triple-A Jacksonville, Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald reports.

ANALYSIS
Cueto seems to be recovered from the biceps injury that sent him to the IL in early April and the ankle sprain he suffered in his early-May rehab debut, but the Marlins want to see better results from him on the farm. The veteran right-hander has been lit up for 17 earned runs in 13 innings across his last three rehab outings.

The numbers certainly worry you if you are a Marlins fan. The team has only made the playoffs once (2020) since 2003 so people don't want to see Cueto come up and halt momentum.

However, his presence may also help ease the workload on youngster Eury Perez. The 20-year-old top prospect will definitely be monitored in terms of his innings this season, and the team has said they already may look at resting him around the All-Star break.

Cueto is in his 16th year in the big leagues with the Reds, Royals, Giants, White Sox and Marlins.

He is a two-time All-Star selection who helped the Royals win the 2015 World Series.

For his career, he's 143-108 with a 3.46 ERA. He led the majors in innings pitched (243.2) in 2014 and led the league in strikeouts that same year.

He's battled injuries the last several years, having only thrown 150 or more innings once since 2017.

He's appeared in just one game this season, surrendering four runs in one inning.