Michael Pineda, a right-handed pitcher from Yaguate, Dominican Republic, began his Major League Baseball career with the Seattle Mariners. Signed as an international free agent in 2005, Pineda worked his way through the Mariners' minor league system, showcasing a powerful fastball and impressive control. By 2011, he had earned a spot in the Mariners' starting rotation.
In his rookie season, Pineda quickly gained attention for his pitching prowess. He made his MLB debut on April 5, 2011, against the Texas Rangers. Throughout the season, Pineda demonstrated his ability to strike out batters, finishing the year with 173 strikeouts over 171 innings pitched. His performance earned him a selection to the 2011 All-Star Game, a rare achievement for a rookie pitcher. Pineda concluded the season with a 9-10 record and a 3.74 ERA, placing fifth in the American League Rookie of the Year voting.
Following his promising rookie season, Pineda was traded to the New York Yankees in January 2012 in exchange for catcher Jesús Montero and pitcher Héctor Noesí. However, his career faced a setback when he suffered a shoulder injury during spring training, which required surgery and caused him to miss the entire 2012 season. Pineda spent the 2013 season recovering and rehabilitating, making his return to the majors in 2014.
With the Yankees, Pineda showed flashes of brilliance but struggled with consistency and injuries. In 2014, he was suspended for 10 games after being caught using pine tar during a game against the Boston Red Sox. Despite this incident, he managed to post a 1.89 ERA in 13 starts that year. Over the next few seasons, Pineda continued to battle injuries, including a forearm strain in 2015 and a partial tear of his ulnar collateral ligament in 2017, which required Tommy John surgery.
Pineda's time with the Yankees ended after the 2017 season, and he signed a two-year contract with the Minnesota Twins in December 2017. The first year of his contract was spent recovering from surgery, but he returned to the mound in 2019. That season, Pineda became a reliable starter for the Twins, finishing with an 11-5 record and a 4.01 ERA over 26 starts. However, his season was cut short by a 60-game suspension for testing positive for a banned diuretic.
In 2020, Pineda returned to the Twins' rotation during the shortened season, posting a 2-0 record with a 3.38 ERA in five starts. He continued to pitch for the Twins in 2021, delivering solid performances and providing veteran leadership to the pitching staff. Pineda finished the 2021 season with a 9-8 record and a 3.62 ERA over 22 starts.
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