The Minnesota Twins have reportedly reached a deal with starting pitcher Michael Pineda on a two-year, $20 million contract. Pineda will head back to the Twins organization after spending 2019 with the team. His season was cut short after he was suspended for the use of performance-enhancing substances, which landed him a 60-game suspension. It was Dan Haynes of The Athletic who broke the news of Pineda’s return to the Twins organization.
Baseball source: Deal is pending a physical, but Michael Pineda is headed back to the #MNTwins on a 2-year deal for $20m. https://t.co/k3rYvIjLc1
— Dan Hayes (@DanHayesMLB) December 6, 2019
Besides the suspension, Pineda was able to make twenty-six starts for the Twins producing some good numbers (even though they could be skewed). In 2019, Pineda was 11-5 with a 4.01 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, and 140 punchouts over 146 innings pitched. He will rejoin a rotation that has recently lost Kyle Gibson, who signed with the Texas Rangers but brought back Jake Odorizzi. Pineda will look to continue the success he was having before the sixty game suspension was handed down.
He was coming off a break from the big leagues where he missed time with Tommy John Surgery, not pitching in the big leagues in all of 2018. He will be missing some time to serve his suspension for the performance-enhancing substances, but he will look to come back to the mound just as dominant in 2019. The Minnesota Twins are gearing up to defend the American League Central division during the 2020 season.
