47 Johnny Cueto SP

Cueto (forearm) will make a rehab start with Triple-A Sacramento on Monday, Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

The plan calls for Cueto to build up to 50-60 pitches Monday in his first of two rehab appearances. Cueto suffered a flexor strain in late July while rehabbing from a blister issue. He'd been pitching with a blister for a while and had developed three blisters on his throwing hand by the time he finally landed on the DL, which in part explains Cueto's uncharacteristic struggles throughout the first half.

Cueto (forearm) will throw another bullpen session Friday and then head out on a rehab assignment, Andrew Baggarly of The San Jose Mercury News reports.

He threw a 25-pitch session Tuesday and will need just one more bullpen before heading out to a minor-league affiliate. This is excellent news, as there is now a concrete plan that should lead to him returning to the big-league rotation this season, assuming he avoids setbacks. If he makes a rehab start in the middle of next week, he could realistically be back in the big leagues the following weekend.

Cueto (forearm) threw a 25-pitch bullpen session Tuesday, Andrew Baggarly of The San Jose Mercury News reports.

There are still several other hurdles for Cueto to clear before he is ready to return to the big-league rotation, and he is not even a lock to return this season, as it would not benefit the Giants as they play out the string and would not benefit Cueto if he has already decided to opt-in on his player option. He is a very difficult player to evaluate in fantasy because of the uncertainty surrounding his status over the final six weeks of the season.

Cueto (flexor strain) will throw a bullpen session sometime later in the week, John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

This will mark Cueto's first time bullpen session since exiting his rehab start at the beginning of August with a flexor strain. Barring any setbacks, he should be cleared to resume a rehab assignment relatively soon, though the Giants will likely continue to take a cautious approach with the right-hander seeing as the team is clearly looking toward 2018. A clearer timetable should emerge once he returns to his rehab assignment, but a return to the big-league rotation before the end of August remains a possibility.

Cueto (flexor strain) played catch on flat ground prior to Friday's game for the first time since initially feeling discomfort on July 31, and said everything felt normal, Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area reports.

Cueto has hinted that the injury is something he could probably pitch through in a playoff setting, but considering the Giants are just playing out the string, everyone is taking a cautious approach with his recovery. His next step is to be determined, but a return to the big-league rotation in late August is still a possibility.