The San Francisco Giants, after failing to defend their championship last season and reach the playoffs, improved their pitching rotation by agreeing with free agent starter Johnny Cueto to a six-year contract which is worth $130 million. 

Cueto is the second starting pitcher that will join the Giants after Jeff Smardzija was signed earlier this month to a five-year, $90 million contract. 

However, Cueto was not the first option for San Francisco when it was exploring for top pitchers during free agency, but he was the only one available when the club failed to land its original targets. 

Cueto will now join a Giants' pitching rotation that includes Smardzija, Madison Bumgarner, Matt Cain, and Jake Peavy. 

Giants general manager Bobby Evans spoke about their recent acquisitions and said, according to ESPN, "Hopefully with these two significant additions it gives us a balance of five guys that can give us the starts and innings we need to protect our bullpen and give us the best chance within our division to compete for the division. That's the goal."

Cueto opened the 2015 season playing for the Cincinnati Reds, the club he played for since entering Major League Baseball (MLB) in 2008, but was traded to the Kansas City Royals last July. 

Splitting the season between the Reds and Royals, the 29-year-old veteran played in 32 games, having an 11-13 record, with a 3.44 earned run average (ERA), 176 strikeouts, and 1.13 walks and hits per innings pitched (WHIP). 

Despite not being the first option for the Giants, Evans said Cueto has been on top of their short list and is someone who can be an "elite presence" in their rotation, ESPN reported. 

The Giants will be continuing their efforts to land major free agents in their hopes of building a contending roster that can bring them on top again in the 2016 season.