The Minnesota Twins may have a comfortable 6.5-game lead on the Cleveland Indians for the AL Central Division lead following their win on Saturday night, but earlier in the day they received some tough news. The Twins will be down a pitcher for the rest of the regular season and in to the Postseason, as starter Michael Pineda has been suspended 60 games for a drug violation. The violation comes from the right-hander taking a diuretic, as he stated that this stems from a medication he received to manage his weight.
Despite his excuse, Pineda did apologize to the organization, along with his family and fans for an "error in judgement." He did state that he never intended to cheat the system, but does take responsibility for what goes in to his body. The original suspension was for 80 games, but it got reduced to 60 following an appeal.
This news comes less than 24 hours after Pineda struck out 12 in the Twins' win over the Indians on Friday night at Target Field, helping them stay hot and inch closer to the division title. Their magic number is now 14 to clinch the division, as they have won 12 of their past 15 games. They will look to do so without a key part of their rotation, as Pineda was 11-5 with a 4.01 ERA this season. He has been hot as of late, going 10-4 with a 2.96 ERA and 87 strikeouts over 82 innings in his past 10 starts.
He was traded to the Twins from the New York Yankees in 2017, but missed the entire 2018 season following Tommy John Surgery. With this suspension, he will forfeit $989,247 of his $8.1 million salary, and he is eligible for free agency this winter, but he will have to serve the rest of his suspension next season.
Despite his excuse, Pineda did apologize to the organization, along with his family and fans for an "error in judgement." He did state that he never intended to cheat the system, but does take responsibility for what goes in to his body. The original suspension was for 80 games, but it got reduced to 60 following an appeal.
This news comes less than 24 hours after Pineda struck out 12 in the Twins' win over the Indians on Friday night at Target Field, helping them stay hot and inch closer to the division title. Their magic number is now 14 to clinch the division, as they have won 12 of their past 15 games. They will look to do so without a key part of their rotation, as Pineda was 11-5 with a 4.01 ERA this season. He has been hot as of late, going 10-4 with a 2.96 ERA and 87 strikeouts over 82 innings in his past 10 starts.
He was traded to the Twins from the New York Yankees in 2017, but missed the entire 2018 season following Tommy John Surgery. With this suspension, he will forfeit $989,247 of his $8.1 million salary, and he is eligible for free agency this winter, but he will have to serve the rest of his suspension next season.
