Headlines

  • Cardinals To Promote Nolan Gorman, Matthew Liberatore; Tyler O’Neill To IL
  • Max Scherzer Likely Out Six To Eight Weeks Due To Oblique Strain
  • Chris Paddack Undergoes Tommy John Surgery
  • Brandon Lowe Diagnosed With Stress Reaction, Shut Down For At Least Three Weeks
  • DeGrom MRI Reveals “Continued Healing”; Still No Clear Timetable For Return
  • Boras: Michael Conforto Not Ruling Out Late-Season Return
  • Previous
  • Next
Register
Login
  • Hoops Rumors
  • Pro Football Rumors
  • Pro Hockey Rumors

MLB Trade Rumors

  • Home
  • Teams
    • AL East
      • Baltimore Orioles
      • Boston Red Sox
      • New York Yankees
      • Tampa Bay Rays
      • Toronto Blue Jays
    • AL Central
      • Chicago White Sox
      • Cleveland Guardians
      • Detroit Tigers
      • Kansas City Royals
      • Minnesota Twins
    • AL West
      • Houston Astros
      • Los Angeles Angels
      • Oakland Athletics
      • Seattle Mariners
      • Texas Rangers
    • NL East
      • Atlanta Braves
      • Miami Marlins
      • New York Mets
      • Philadelphia Phillies
      • Washington Nationals
    • NL Central
      • Chicago Cubs
      • Cincinnati Reds
      • Milwaukee Brewers
      • Pittsburgh Pirates
      • St. Louis Cardinals
    • NL West
      • Arizona Diamondbacks
      • Colorado Rockies
      • Los Angeles Dodgers
      • San Diego Padres
      • San Francisco Giants
  • About
    • MLB Trade Rumors
    • Tim Dierkes
    • Writing team
    • Advertise
    • Archives
  • Contact
  • Tools
    • 2021-22 MLB Free Agent Tracker
    • 2021-22 MLB Free Agent List
    • 2022-23 MLB Free Agent List
    • Top 50 Free Agents
    • Projected Arbitration Salaries For 2022
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Extension Tracker
    • Arbitration Tracker
    • Agency Database
  • NBA/NFL/NHL
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors
  • App
  • Chats
Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Twins Place Michael Pineda On Injured List

By Steve Adams | June 14, 2021 at 7:10pm CDT

The Twins announced Monday that they’ve placed righty Michael Pineda (right elbow inflammation) and infielder/outfielder Rob Refsnyder (hamstring strain) on the 10-day injured list. In a pair of corresponding moves, they’ve reinstated Kenta Maeda and Luis Arraez from the injured list. Center fielder Byron Buxton has not yet been activated, though Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press tweets that he traveled with the team to Seattle, which suggests a return is near.

The loss of Pineda is notable on multiple levels. The big righty has been one of the Twins’ few effective starters so far in 2021. He also stands out as one of the more obvious trade candidates on the roster for a disappointing Minnesota club that looks more and more likely to sell veteran pieces as the summer wears on.

Pineda, 32, was terrific for the first two months of the season, pitching to a 2.62 ERA with a 26.7 percent strikeout rate and a 6.8 percent strikeout rate. However, Pineda had one start pushed back this month, and he exited another — his most recent outing — with elbow discomfort after just four innings. He’s followed up that terrific April/May run with a three-start stretch that has seen him total just 11 1/3 innings while yielding 10 runs.

On the whole, Pineda still has plenty respectable numbers. He’s accumulated 56 innings on the year and posted a 3.70 earned run average with a 22.1 percent strikeout rate, a 6.5 percent walk rate and a 38.1 percent ground-ball rate. That type of production would help to bolster just about any rotation in baseball, and given that Pineda is playing out the second season of a two-year, $20MM contract, his salary is manageable enough for the majority of contenders. The Twins may not want to commit to selling just yet, but at 26-39 and 15 games back of the division lead, that’s the likeliest outcome.

Refsnyder, 30, was a pleasant surprise for an injury-ravaged Twins club. The journeyman utilityman signed a minor league deal over the winter but unexpectedly gave the Twins a .321/.371/.500 batting line in 62 trips to the plate before going down with his own injury. He’s taken on a good bit of the workload in center field while Buxton has recovered from a hip flexor strain.

In Maeda and Arraez, the Twins will be getting back a pair who were expected to play significant roles on a division contender. Maeda finished runner-up to Shane Bieber in last summer’s Cy Young voting, but he hasn’t looked right at all this season.

In nine starts before landing on the injured list with a groin injury, he pitched to a 5.27 ERA that was nearly double last season’s 2.70 mark. Maeda’s strikeout rate plummeted from 32.3 percent last year to 20.5 percent in 2021, while his walk rate has jumped from four percent to 5.8 percent. Most problematically, he’s given up home runs at the highest rate of his career (1.90 HR/9). Time will tell whether the stay on the IL can get the righty back on track.

Arraez, meanwhile, got out to a blistering start but saw his bat go ice-cold for several weeks before injuring his shoulder on a slide into second base. The versatile Arraez hit .331/.390/.429 with more walks than strikeouts in 487 plate appearances from 2019-20, but that output has slipped to .278/.358/.333 so far in 2021.

Share 0 Retweet 5 Send via email0

Minnesota Twins Byron Buxton Kenta Maeda Luis Arraez Michael Pineda Rob Refsnyder

Marlins Move Brian Anderson To 60-Day IL, Select Luis Madero
Main
Matthew Boyd Exits Start Due To Triceps Issue
View Comments (23)

Comments

  1. Steve Nebraska

    11 months ago

    RIP he will be missed

    Reply
    • Fever Pitch Guy

      11 months ago

      Thoughts and prayers for a speedy recovery.

      Reply
  2. Yuh

    11 months ago

    He’s gotta take time off to redo his sticky substance location now that they gonna crack down

    Reply
    • pwndroia

      11 months ago

      Totally did not see this before my post…

      Reply
  3. pwndroia

    11 months ago

    Rocking the pine tar

    Reply
  4. luckyh

    11 months ago

    Pine tar Pineda!!

    Reply
  5. Down with OBP

    11 months ago

    I think we missed some Detroit roster moves today.

    Reply
  6. bobtillman

    11 months ago

    Hopefully Refsnyder’s IL stint won’t affect his HOF chances.

    Reply
    • costergaard2

      11 months ago

      He’s rocking the 38 that he wore on the Yankees too !

      Reply
  7. Biff

    11 months ago

    Where’s ‘ol Mike Leake (Mr.reliable) when you need ”m?
    Cus alot of rotations could use him.
    Someone who’ll take the ball every 5th game

    Reply
    • Lamar Smith

      11 months ago

      My Red Sox could use a Mike Leake type pitcher.

      Reply
      • Rsox

        11 months ago

        Baseball needs “Big Sexy” back. There is not a rotation in the league, the Red Sox included, that could not use his 3-1 record and 3.56 ERA over his first 30 innings in the very hitter friendly Mexican League

        Reply
  8. tribepride17

    11 months ago

    He should actually try to get in shape one year to see if he could actually finish a season. It’s amazing how some baseball players put zero effort into conditioning.

    Reply
    • srsbryzness

      11 months ago

      Right, because losing some weight would have prevented a forearm strain.

      Reply
      • OK PLAY3R

        11 months ago

        Maybe strained it supporting his weight in bed?

        Reply
      • tribepride17

        11 months ago

        The guy is hurt every year and is a fat slob despite getting paid millions to use his body. I think proper conditioning and lower body training takes stress of the arm. That’s baseball 101 pal.

        Reply
      • martras

        11 months ago

        Extra weight certainly could contribute to a forearm strain. Accelerating and decelerating mass takes force. Less mass equals less force equals lower chance of muscle strain.

        That said, weight loss is often accompanied by conditioning and the right kind of conditioning can and does reduce the likelihood of injuries.

        It’s tough to say how much Pineda having improved conditioning would impact how frequently he’s injured.

        Reply
  9. angt222

    11 months ago

    There goes any idea of trading Pineda.

    Reply
  10. Twinsfan79

    11 months ago

    The number of injuries this year is crazy. Twins looked good to start the year. Been a snowball since Kepler and the others went down with covid.

    Reply
  11. martras

    11 months ago

    It’ll be nice to see Maeda, Buxton and Arraez back on the field. It might have come with a couple guys going to the IL, but a 3:2 ratio of guys coming back is still a step in the right direction!

    Reply
  12. Bustedstuff88

    11 months ago

    Twins are Done. Pull the plug.

    Reply
  13. basquiat

    11 months ago

    This has become a joke. Every time a pitcher gets roughed up they put him on the 10-day.

    Reply
  14. Thornton Mellon

    11 months ago

    Hi Twins fans, Orioles fan from CO here. I went to a game in Aug ’19 at your beautiful stadium and had a great (although more expensive than I guessed) time. Kind of stunned how much the Twins have struggled this year and figure you are in line for an “everything must go” trade deadline stance (Orioles fans are used to this). Sorry to see it, the 2019 Twins were a fun team to watch. Best of luck!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Please login to leave a reply.
Log in Register

ad: 300x250_1_MLB

    Top Stories

    Cardinals To Promote Nolan Gorman, Matthew Liberatore; Tyler O’Neill To IL

    Max Scherzer Likely Out Six To Eight Weeks Due To Oblique Strain

    Chris Paddack Undergoes Tommy John Surgery

    Brandon Lowe Diagnosed With Stress Reaction, Shut Down For At Least Three Weeks

    DeGrom MRI Reveals “Continued Healing”; Still No Clear Timetable For Return

    Boras: Michael Conforto Not Ruling Out Late-Season Return

    Mariners Option Jarred Kelenic, Claim Adrian Sampson

    Kumar Rocker Signs With Frontier League’s Tri-City ValleyCats

    Dodgers Place Clayton Kershaw On Injured List

    Bryce Harper Has Tear In UCL, Won’t Throw For Four Weeks

    Padres Sign Robinson Cano

    Gerardo Parra Retires

    Mariners Promote George Kirby, Place Ken Giles On 60-Day IL

    Diamondbacks To Promote Alek Thomas

    A’s Reinstate Ramon Laureano, Designate Jorge Juan

    Recent

    MLBTR Live Chat: 5/20/22

    Royals Option Carlos Hernandez, Select Foster Griffin

    Yankees Notes: Green, Gil, Judge

    Roberts: Kershaw Likely A Couple Weeks From Throwing Bullpen Session

    Reds Make Series Of Roster Moves

    Tigers Claim Brendon Davis From Angels

    Mets Sign Trevor Cahill To Minor League Contract

    Big Hype Prospects: Gorman, Liberatore, Thomas, Lewis, Rodriguez

    Cubs Notes: Contreras, Heuer, Howard

    Latest On Asdrubal Cabrera

    MLBTR Newsletter - Hot stove highlights in your inbox, five days a week

    Latest Rumors & News

    Latest Rumors & News

    • Trevor Story Rumors
    • Frankie Montas Rumors
    • Michael Conforto Rumors
    • Arbitration Tracker
    Trade Rumors App for iOS and Android

    MLBTR Features

    MLBTR Features

    • Go Ad-Free
    • MLB Player Chats
    • 2021-22 MLB Free Agent Tracker
    • 2021-22 MLB Free Agent List
    • Top 50 Free Agents
    • 2022-23 MLB Free Agent List
    • Projected Arbitration Salaries For 2022
    • Transaction Tracker
    • Extension Tracker
    • Agency Database
    • MLBTR On Twitter
    • MLBTR On Facebook
    • Team Facebook Pages
    • How To Set Up Notifications For Breaking News
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors

    Rumors By Team

    • Angels Rumors
    • Astros Rumors
    • Athletics Rumors
    • Blue Jays Rumors
    • Braves Rumors
    • Brewers Rumors
    • Cardinals Rumors
    • Cubs Rumors
    • Diamondbacks Rumors
    • Dodgers Rumors
    • Giants Rumors
    • Guardians Rumors
    • Mariners Rumors
    • Marlins Rumors
    • Mets Rumors
    • Nationals Rumors
    • Orioles Rumors
    • Padres Rumors
    • Phillies Rumors
    • Pirates Rumors
    • Rangers Rumors
    • Rays Rumors
    • Red Sox Rumors
    • Reds Rumors
    • Rockies Rumors
    • Royals Rumors
    • Tigers Rumors
    • Twins Rumors
    • White Sox Rumors
    • Yankees Rumors

    ad: 160x600_MLB

    Navigation

    • Sitemap
    • Archives
    • Feeds by Team

    MLBTR INFO

    • Advertise
    • About
    • Commenting Policy
    • Privacy Policy

    Connect

    • Contact Us
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS Feed

    MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

    hide arrowsFOX Sports Engage Network scroll to top
    Close

    Desktop Version | Switch To Mobile Version