Minnesota Twins Rumors: Club Signs Both Michael Pineda, Alex Avila

Reports from around the Minnesota Twins franchise indicate that the team has agreed to terms with both Michael Pineda and Alex Avila. The moves will go a long way to deciding what the Twins’ rotation and starting lineup will look like in 2020.

Michael Pineda is a right-handed starter who was one of the better pitchers for Minnesota in 2019. After his return from Tommy John surgery he needed some time to get back to his best but from May until his season ended in September, Pineda posted a 3.46 ERA.

During that same stretch the former New York Yankee allowed more than three earned runs in just two of his 18 starts. Of course, the end of his season came due to a rules violation he was found guilty of breaking MLB’s Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program.

That brought with it a 60-game suspension, meaning Michael Pineda will miss the first 39 games of the 2020 regular season. According to MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez, the 30-year-old pitcher and the Twins have agreed to a two-year $20 million contract to keep him in Minneapolis.

The contract is roughly equal in value to his previous pact. That two-year deal was worth $10 million but he was set to sit for an entire season due to the Tommy John surgery. Pineda projects to be a middle of the rotation option behind the likes of Jose Berrios and Jake Odorizzi unless the Twins sign another starter like Madison Bumgarner.

Meanwhile, Minnesota also secured a major part of their offense in another acquisition. According to MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand, the Twins have agreed to a one-year contract with catcher Alex Avila worth $4.25 million.

The team had a need behind the plate after seeing Jason Castro leave via free agency. The addition of the 32-year-old Avila will help greatly due to his defensive abilities and his left-handed bat. Backup Mitch Garver bats righty meaning the two would be very complementary and could be platooned should the Twins wish to do so.

Manager Rocco Baldelli preferred to rotate Castro and Garver in 2019 with the former playing 72 games and the latter 73. Avila’s offense has declined over the past few seasons but he did post a .795 OPS against right-handed pitching in 2019 making him a terrific option for rotation.

Meanwhile, the short-term nature of Avila’s new contract means he shouldn’t get in the way of up-can-coming prospect Ryan Jeffers who is ranked as one of the Twins’ top young players. He finished last season in Double-A so could make it to the big-league roster by 2021.