SF Giants: 3 Players who will not be back in 2022

SF Giants: 3 Players who will not be back in 2022

2. Johnny Cueto

Johnny Cueto's first season as a San Francisco Giant back in 2016 was phenomenal. He had an 18-5 record with a 2.79 ERA and was a key part of helping the Giants secure a spot in the NL Wild card game.

Since then, Johnny has struggled. He has dealt with injuries every year since 2016 and has only been able to recapture his younger self for a few starts. In 2021 he started 21 games and had a record of 7-7 with a 4.08 ERA. While many probably would have taken that from Cueto at the start of the season, it is obviously not good enough to justify exercising the $22 million club option in his contract.

The Giants are almost certainly going to prioritize re-signing Kevin Gausman this offseason who, despite a rough second half, has established himself as a key part of the rotation. Like Dickerson, there simply is not enough room for Cueto in the Giants rotation, especially at the price.

We are all going to miss Johnny's lively personality and his shimmying on the mound, but after five entertaining years as a Giant, his time in San Francisco has come to an end.