San Francisco Giants right-hander Johnny Cueto has been placed on the disabled list with a sprained elbow and is facing the likelihood of undergoing Tommy John surgery, manager Bruce Bochy said before Monday night's game in San Diego.
Cueto recently met with team doctors regarding a sore elbow, and Bochy said Monday it was a "strong possibility" that Cueto may need the surgery.
The 32-year-old is winless in four starts since returning from a two-month stint on the disabled list for an elbow injury.
Before going on the DL, Cueto was off to a strong start and sported a 3-0 mark with an ERA of 0.84 in five starts. Since returning he's 3-2 overall with a 3.23 ERA in 53 innings.
After signing a six-year, $130 million free-agent deal, Cueto had a solid first season in San Francisco in 2016, going 18-5 with a 2.79 ERA.
But he has struggled with injuries since, limited to 147⅓ innings in 2017 when he was 8-8 with a 4.52 ERA.
Bochy said Chris Stratton will likely take Cueto's place in the rotation.
In addition to Cueto, the Giants also put Pablo Sandoval on the disabled list. The infielder, who is hitting .248 with nine home runs and 40 RBIs, has a strained right hamstring.
In corresponding roster moves, infielder Kelby Tomlinson has been called up from Triple-A Sacramento and infielder Joe Panik has been reinstated from the disabled list.