Those two orders of business — plugging in a hole in the rotation and getting another catcher to pair with Mitch Garver — had been reported last week but weren’t made official until the completion of physicals.
In bringing back Pineda, who was suspended late last season for 60 games for testing positive for a banned diuretic, the Twins showed there were no hard feelings. Pineda will be suspended for the first 39 games of the 2020 season.
“His response to the adversity, I think it left us feeling that there was a level of sincerity to his contrition and accountability and that we could see a clear path forward in him continuing to be a part of this organization,” general manager Thad Levine said. “…It felt to us all along that he had a desire to return to us if all things were equal.”
In September, after the suspension was revealed, Pineda said he had put on weight in recent years and had been trying to find a way to control that so it didn’t hurt his knees. He said he trusted someone who gave him something over the counter, which led to the positive test.
While Pineda will be out until May, chief baseball officer Derek Falvey said the team would use that time to help him with a conditioning program.
“We’re going to have an extended period of time to do some things from a strength and conditioning standpoint, from an overall body health standpoint that we’ll start now obviously and work through the winter but that will carry much through February and March, because if he can’t pitch in a major league game until our (40th) game of the season, then we’re going to make sure we’re going to do everything we can do put his body in a good position,” Falvey said.
Pineda, who missed all of the 2018 season dealing with injuries and recovery, posted a 4.01 ERA in 2019 in 26 games.
The numbers were even better in the second half of the season, where he posted a 3.04 ERA in his nine post-break starts, and the Twins are hoping that that success can be replicated when he returns next season.
When he does, one of the guys he will be throwing to is Avila.
After Garver’s breakout offensive season in 2019, Levine said there has been conversation about how to get him more plate appearances. But the answer, Levine said, isn’t necessarily to spike the number of games behind the plate up to 100 — he played in 93 games last season — and so from that standpoint, he referred to Garver and Avila as “ideally two lead catchers, both of whom are capable of catching 75-plus games.”
Levine said last year’s arrangement with Garver and Jason Castro had “accentuated both guys’ strengths,” by keeping them fresh and the team is hoping for a similar relationship.
In Avila, they have a left-handed complement to Garver, who gets on base at a good clip and is familiar with the division — Avila played for both the Tigers and White Sox — and a veteran who can be a mentor to those around him.
“He has gotten rave reviews working with younger catchers in being a little bit of a mentor and sharing his learnings that he’s had throughout the course of his career,” Levine said. “I think that really resonated with us.”
With Pineda and Avila in the fold, the Twins have filled two of the holes they entered the offseason with.
They are still in the market for pitching, particularly a starter, and could possibly use a corner infielder, another reliever, or both. But for now, they have taken two important steps to patching up the roster.
“We’re having a lot of meetings now to put ourselves in the best position to proceed,” Levine said Monday. “But I do think we’ve stabilized the team and that was essential. Now we still have the ability to impact it significantly. But first steps first was to stabilize.”
"make" - Google News
December 11, 2019 at 11:00AM
https://ift.tt/2seOVmv
Twins make Michael Pineda, Alex Avila signings official - Grand Forks Herald
"make" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2WG7dIG
Shoes Man Tutorial
Pos News Update
Meme Update
Korean Entertainment News
Japan News Update
No comments:
Post a Comment