He’ll be 34 at the start of next season. What would a 20-month layoff between major league games look like for him? He didn’t want to find out. He pushed to come back a little over a year after Tommy John surgery. He committed to retaining his status as a top of the rotation starter, or at the very least maintain the possibility of holding onto that status once 2020 rolled around. Can you blame him?
There was not one moment in tonight’s game, his first major league game since July 28th of last year, that he did not look like Peak Johnny Cueto.