Detroit Tigers sign right-hander Michael Pineda to one-year, $5.5 million contract

Detroit Free Press

LAKELAND, Fla. — The Detroit Tigers have signed right-hander Michael Pineda to a one-year contract, pending his completion of a physical, a source with knowledge of the agreement told the Free Press.

Pineda’s deal is for $5.5 million, plus up to $2.5 million in incentives.

The 33-year-old is scheduled to report to Tigers camp in Lakeland for his physical Saturday.

EVAN PETZOLD:What Andrew Chafin’s deal signals about Tigers’ plans for 2022

Pineda pitched for the Minnesota Twins last season. He posted a 3.62 ERA with 21 walks and 88 strikeouts across 109⅓ innings in 22 games (21 starts). The eight-year MLB veteran has a career 3.98 ERA.

For the Tigers, Pineda fills out the starting rotation.

He joins left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez, right-hander Casey Mize, lefty Tarik Skubal and righty Matt Manning. With Pineda joining the Tigers, left-hander Tyler Alexander returns to a swingman role in the bullpen.

Rodriguez, who signed a five-year, $77 million contract in November, is the Tigers’ Opening Day starter for 2022.

The Tigers have added five players to MLB contracts this offseason: Pineda, Rodriguez, shortstop Javier Baez (six years, $140 million), catcher Tucker Barnhart (trade from Cincinnati Reds) and left-handed reliever Andrew Chafin (two years, $13 million).

A flamethrower at the start of his career, Pineda is unlikely to recapture his dominance in 2011, when he struck out 173 in 171 innings as a rookie with the Seattle Mariners, or in 2016 (207 strikeouts in 175⅔ innings) with the New York Yankees, especially with a fastball that averaged just 90.7 mph last season (after averaging better than 94 mph in 2011 and 2016).

But Pineda was still effective with the Twins in 2021, thanks to his top-tier 4.6% walk rate. He also posted a 69.9% first-pitch strike rate, 34.3% chase rate, 22.1% swing-and-miss rate and 19.2% strikeout rate.

Pineda threw three pitches last season: four-seam fastball (54.2%), slider (28.9%) and changeup (16.9%). Opponents hit .199 against his slider with 50 strikeouts and a 37.7% whiff rate.

Pineda has a long history of injuries, including missing all of the 2012, 2013 and 2018 seasons. He was also suspended 60 games for using a performance-enhancing drug in 2019, costing him all but five starts in the 60-game 2020 season as well.

Free Press sports writer Ryan Ford contributed to this report.

Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him on Twitter @EvanPetzoldRead more on the Detroit Tigers and sign up for our Tigers newsletter.

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