5 players the Minnesota Twins should trade to complete their fire sale
Pick Analysis. . Michael Pineda. Scouting Report. SP, Twins. 3. . player. 2
Around a couple stints on the IL, Pineda has a 3.93 ERA over 13 starts this season with solid peripherals (7.9 K/9, 2.2 BB/9, 50.8 percent ground ball rate, 4.29 FIP). The idea he’ll ever become a top-end starter is long, long gone at 32 years old, but he’s a capable middle to back-end of the rotation arm when healthy. Teams looking at that type of guy (the Philadelphia Phillies come to mind) could be interested.
Pineda is in the final year of his contract, at $10 million. The Twins may have to eat some of the remaining money he’s owed to move him on more easily, but taking that fully on shouldn’t be a deal breaker for any interested teams either. It’s not as if the Twins would suddenly get a top-50 overall prospect by paying the remainder of his salary for the year.
If the Twins only want to trade rental players, Pineda is in that bullseye and he has been ever since this season started to go off the rails for them. Pitching is always in demand at the deadline, and Pineda will get one more showcase opportunity early next week against the Detroit Tigers.