Free agent starter Michael Pineda has signed a two-year contract with the Minnesota Twins, the team announced Wednesday morning.
Pineda, who was dealt from the Seattle Mariners to the Yankees in exchange for top catching prospect Jesus Montero back in Jan. 2012, spent four seasons in the Bronx, finishing with a 31-31 record and 4.16 ERA in 89 total starts. His 2017 campaign was cut short, however, as he discovered that he needed Tommy John surgery.
Pineda’s peformances in New York would best be desrcibed as Jekyll and Hyde. In April 2014, he made the backpages after umpires caught him with pine tar on his neck while pitching against the Red Sox at Fenway Park. But Pineda had a few tremendous outings. In the Yankees’ home opener against the Tampa Bay Rays this past April, Pineda struck out 11 hitters and allowed one run in 7.2 innings, and in a Mother’s Day matinee against the Baltimore Orioles at Yankee Stadium in May 2016, he struck out a career-high 16 in seven frames.
Pineda will reportedly earn $2 million next season and $8 million in 2019.
