The Twins have announced that they have signed Michael Pineda, who currently is recovering from elbow surgery, to a two-year, $10 million contract.
Pineda underwent Tommy John surgery in July and will miss most, if not all, of the 2018 season. It's a move for 2019. The contract is for $2 million in 2018 and $8 million in 2019.
Pineda, 28, once was a rising young star with the Mariners, going 9-10 with a 3.74 ERA in 2011 and making the All-Star Game as a rookie. He was then traded to the Yankees (part of the Jesus Montero deal) but missed the next two seasons because of shoulder problems.
"We all know, when he's healthy, what he can do, and I thought it was outside the box a little bit but something that was definitely _ that I was real happy to hear that he were going that direction to bring him on board," manager Paul Molitor said. "We'll see what this year brings. Most likely, we're going to encourage him to take care of his rehab. Obviously, it's going to run up near the end of the year. At the very worst, we're hoping he goes into the next offseason being able to do his regular work and not worry about rehabbing and be ready for '19."
There have been more injury issues for the 6-foot-7, 260-pound Pineda, plus a game in 2014 game when he was ejected for having a foreign substance on his neck.
He was part of the Yankees rotation in 2017, but suffered a partial tear of his UCL ligament as well as a flexor strain in his elbow. He underwent Tommy John surgery.
The Twins have made it clear this move is to see what Pineda can do in 2019. He will be paid $2 million in 2018 and $8 million in 2019.
This will be an interesting case for an organization that is trying to improve its ability to prevent injuries as well as help players recover from injuries better than they have in the past.
"I'm excited, obviously," Molitor said. "You've seen those signings in the past that have worked out where a guy's rehabbing whatever the injury might be _ in this case, Tommy John. You make the sacrifice of giving up the year for the most part to allow him to rehab, and you're relying fairly heavily on taking the risk of upside in '19, in his case. I had a nice conversation with him not too long ago. He was excited about the opportunity of coming to Minnesota."
Pineda has a career record of 40-41 with a 4.05 ERA. He has 687 strikeouts in 680 innings, with 157 walks.
Pineda was 8-4 with a 4.39 ERA for the Yankees last season before being sidelined with an elbow injury and having surgery July 18.
