Even at a relatively quiet portion of the season, there remain a handful of notable players on the free agent market. Gary Sánchez just came off the board on a minor league deal last week, for instance. Which other players — many of whom are late-career former stars — could still find interest as depth options, particularly if they’re amenable to a minor league contract?

Miguel Sanó

Sanó had a disastrous 2022 season. Right knee troubles kept him to 20 games and 71 plate appearances, in which he hit .083/.211/.133 with only one home run. That ended his time with the Twins, who made the obvious call to buy him out of a club option, but he’s only a year removed from hitting 30 homers. Sanó has topped 25 longballs on four occasions in his career. He won’t turn 30 until next month, making him one of the younger players who didn’t sign over the offseason. Sanó reportedly held a showcase for scouts in early February but there was no publicly reported interest from any teams thereafter.

Chris Archer

Like Sanó, Archer spent the 2022 season in Minnesota but was bought out at year’s end. He tossed 102 2/3 innings across 25 outings, posting a 4.56 ERA with a modest 19.2% strikeout rate and an elevated 11% walk percentage. It was the most hittable Archer has been in his career, but he still averaged 93 MPH on his four-seam and 88.7 MPH on his slider. He’s clearly not the upper mid-rotation arm he was when he made two All-Star games during his time with the Rays, but he’s probably the top unsigned starting pitcher. Archer hasn’t been substantively linked to any team since being cut loose by Minnesota in November. Last month, Joel Sherman of the New York Post wrote that Archer had conducted a showcase for teams, though it isn’t clear when that workout occurred.

Darin Ruf

Released by the Mets earlier this week, Ruf is a right-handed hitter who has typically been an effective platoon first base/corner outfield option of late. He mashed at a .271/.385/.519 clip two years ago. At last summer’s deadline, he was carrying a .216/.328/.373 line over 90 games for the Giants. New York acquired him for a four-player package including J.D. Davis and Thomas Szapucki. Ruf’s production cratered in Queens but he’s not far removed from being a well-regarded offensive player.

Stephen Piscotty

Piscotty has tallied over 2800 MLB plate appearances split between the Cardinals and A’s. An above-average hitter through his first four seasons, he’s struggled significantly in the last four years. Piscotty was released by Oakland last summer and didn’t return to the majors after signing a minor league deal with the Reds. He caught on with the Giants and collected eight hits in 25 at-bats (.320/.370/.440) but didn’t land a job out of camp. San Francisco granted him his release on Opening Day.

Zack Britton

Britton was arguably the sport’s most dominant reliever during his halcyon days in Baltimore. He remained an elite ground-ball artist for much of his time with the Yankees, excelling in high-leverage innings through 2020. Poor health has intervened in the last two years. Britton spent time on the injured list with elbow concerns in 2021, struggling when able to take the mound. He eventually required Tommy John surgery, which wiped out virtually all of the ’22 season. Britton returned at the tail end of the season but couldn’t find the strike zone and was shut back down. He’s thrown multiple showcases in recent months.

Ken Giles

Much of what applies to Britton is also true of Giles. They’re different pitchers stylistically — Giles is a right-hander whose best days were fueled by huge strikeout tallies instead of grounders — but he’s also a formerly elite reliever who has fallen on hard times from a health perspective. Giles also required Tommy John surgery. His procedure came late in 2020 and cost him all of the ’21 campaign. He returned to the majors with the Mariners last summer and was let go after five appearances. Giles also worked out for clubs late in the offseason but has yet to put pen to paper.

Corey Knebel

Continuing with the run on relievers, Knebel is a former All-Star closer in his own right. He wasn’t as dominant as either Britton or Giles at his peak, and his career has frequently been interrupted by injury. Knebel was very productive as recently as 2021, when he posted a 2.45 ERA in 25 2/3 innings for the Dodgers. That earned him a $10MM deal with the Phillies, which was sidetracked by shoulder problems. He finished the year on the injured list after tearing his shoulder capsule.

Leury García

García spent a decade with the White Sox in a utility capacity. Never much of an offensive threat, he nevertheless endeared himself to multiple coaching staffs based on his defensive flexibility. García signed a surprising three-year deal with Chicago over the 2021-22 offseason. He had a dreadful ’22 campaign and was off to a rough start in Spring Training. The White Sox cut bait in spite of the two remaining years on his contract. García’s an affordable utility option elsewhere.

Mike Minor

Minor made 19 starts for the Reds last season, allowing a 6.06 ERA. He was hampered by shoulder issues at times and struggled significantly with the home run ball. Minor has allowed more than five earned runs per nine innings for three consecutive seasons, though his strikeout and walk rates were solid up until 2022. He held a showcase in February and drew some reported attention from the Cubs last month.

Dallas Keuchel

A former Cy Young winner who was effective for the White Sox during the shortened 2020 season, Keuchel has been hit hard over the past couple years. He played for each of Chicago, Arizona and Texas last season and was tagged for a 9.20 ERA across 14 starts. Keuchel was excellent over four Triple-A outings in the Ranger organization. Jon Heyman of the New York Post reported a couple weeks ago that the Phillies had expressed loose interest in the two-time All-Star, though Philadelphia apparently didn’t put a formal minor league offer on the table.

Others of note: Archie Bradley, Kole Calhoun, Robinson Canó, Kyle Crick, Didi Gregorius, Michael Pineda, Garrett Richards, Aníbal Sánchez, Andrelton Simmons, Jonathan Villar

There aren’t as many starting pitchers for clubs to sort through as there were bullpen targets, with 19 remaining hurlers who tallied at least 20 rotation innings this past season. We’ll look at the top half of that group by various metrics to determine who teams figure to prioritize as they seek starting pitching depth.

Note: all figures cited, including league averages, are looking solely at pitchers’ outings as starters.

ERA (league average — 4.05)

1. Johnny Cueto (RHP), 3.29
2. Michael Wacha (RHP), 3.32
3. Wade Miley (LHP), 3.34
4. Bryan Garcia (RHP), 3.54
5. Zack Greinke (RHP), 3.68
6. Devin Smeltzer (LHP), 4.02
7. Zach Davies (RHP), 4.06
8. Aníbal Sánchez (RHP), 4.28
9. Drew Hutchison (RHP), 4.52

Strikeout rate (league average — 21.6%)

1. Chase Anderson (RHP), 24.6%
2. Matt Swarmer (RHP), 22.4%
3. Bryan Garcia, 20.2%
4. Michael Wacha, 20.2%
5. Chris Archer (RHP), 19.2%
6. Wade Miley, 18.4%
7. Zach Davies, 17.9%
8. Chad Kuhl (RHP), 17.8%
9. Mike Minor (LHP), 16.7%

Strikeout/walk rate differential (league average — 14.1 percentage points)

1. Michael Wacha, 14.2 points
2. Matt Swarmer, 13.1 points
3. Dylan Bundy (RHP), 11.1 points
4. Chase Anderson, 10.6 points
5. Johnny Cueto, 10.5 points
6. Wade Miley, 9.2 points
7. Michael Pineda (RHP), 9 points
8. Aaron Sanchez (RHP), 9 points
9. Zach Davies, 8.8 points

Ground-ball rate (league average — 42.5%)

1. Wade Miley, 54.2%
2. Aaron Sanchez, 51.3%
3. Chase Anderson, 50.9%
4. Dallas Keuchel (LHP), 50.2%
5. Jared Koenig (LHP), 47.2%
6. Chris Archer, 43.7%
7. Zach Davies, 42.9%
8. Johnny Cueto, 42.5%
9. Zack Greinke, 41.3%

FIP (league average — 4.04)

1. Johnny Cueto, 3.76
2. Wade Miley, 4.00
3. Zack Greinke, 4.03
4. Michael Wacha, 4.14
5. Chase Anderson, 4.37
6. Chris Archer, 4.49
7. Aaron Sanchez, 4.61
8. Dylan Bundy, 4.66
9. Zach Davies, 4.83

Innings pitched

1. Johnny Cueto, 153 1/3
2. Dylan Bundy, 140
3. Zack Greinke, 137
4. Chad Kuhl, 137
5. Zach Davies, 134 1/3
6. Michael Wacha, 127 1/3
7. Chris Archer, 102 2/3
8. Mike Minor, 98
9. Drew Hutchison, 89 2/3

Sep. 4: The Tigers have designated right-hander Michael Pineda for assignment, Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic was among those to report. His roster spot will go to reliever Luis Castillo.

Pineda, 33, is a veteran who made his MLB debut with the Mariners back in 2011 and has since pitched for the Yankees and Twins. He joined the Tigers for this season on a one-year deal that came with a $5.5MM guarantee as well as incentives based on innings pitched.

At the time, it was surely hoped that Pineda could be a reliable veteran presence in a rotation that featured a lot of talented but inexperienced youngsters. In the end, just about every pitcher who started a game for the Tigers spent some time on the injured list this year, with Pineda being no exception. He went to the IL in May due to a right middle finger fracture, costing him about six weeks. In late July, he returned to the IL due to right triceps tightness, which kept him away for another five weeks.

Between those IL stints, he’s only been able to make 11 starts and throw 46 2/3 innings. He also hasn’t been able to be very effective, with his 5.79 ERA almost a full run above his previous career high of 4.82. His 13% strikeout rate is easily the worst of his career, though his control is still present, with his 4% walk rate about half of the league average for starters.

The Tigers are well out of contention and will use the final weeks of the season to audition youngsters for roles on future teams. “I hate it for Michael,” manager A.J. Hinch tells Stavenhagen. “Nothing worse than telling a veteran of his magnitude and his career that we’re moving on from him. But for us, it’s time to take a look at the guys who have a better chance of being here.”

There might also be a financial reason for the move, as Pineda was about to start hitting the incentives in his contract. He would have received $375K for hitting each of the 50, 75, 100, and 125 inning benchmarks, and he would receive an additional $500K for tossing 150 and 175 innings. Since he’s currently at 46 2/3 frames on the year, he likely would have earned himself an extra $375K in his next start. Instead, he will be put on waivers in the coming days, likely clearing waivers given the approximately $800K remaining on his deal. Assuming he does clear, he would be able to reject an outright assignment in favor of electing free agency, by virtue of having more than five years of MLB service time.

Pineda’s injury is another in a long line of ailments that have beset the Tigers’ pitching staff this season. Pineda himself has made just 10 starts, posting a 5.27 ERA/5.81 FIP in 42 2/3 innings of work.

Garcia can step right into Pineda’s rotation spot in the short term. The 24-year-old has made seven starts this season with eight relief outings summing to 48 1/3 innings with a 4.28 ERA/4.42 FIP. Garcia was a starter for the Tigers throughout June, and it’s likely that he steps back into that role. Tyler Alexander will also step back into the rotation in the short term, per Evan Woodbery of the MLive Media Group (via Twitter).

De Jesus will move into the bullpen, from which he has made two appearances for Detroit this season. The 25-year-old has a 5.40 ERA across 27 outings in Triple-A totaling 28 1/3 innings of work. He takes Short’s roster spot. Short has been called up to the active roster a few times this season, though he has yet to carve out a significant role.

Faedo was one of several younger pitchers called up to help the rotation weather the injury storm, and he delivered a 5.53 ERA over his first 53 2/3 innings of Major League action.  With a 2.92 ERA over the first 37 of those frames, it looked like Faedo was making a rookie breakout before the league started to get a book on him, and also before his hip injury began to impact his performance.  The bad hip forced Faedo out of a July 4 start after only 3 2/3 innings, and he has been tagged for seven runs over his last two starts and 5 1/3 innings of action.

The 18th overall pick of the 2017 draft, Faedo was himself making a comeback from injury, as a forearm strain in 2020 resulted in Tommy John surgery at the end of that year that sidelined him for all of 2021.  Unfortunately, he’ll now face another significant absence even if he ultimately decides against hip surgery, and if he does opt to go under the knife, the rehab process could impact Faedo’s readiness for Spring Training or Opening Day 2023.

Funkhouser is also facing an uncertain timeline, as a shoulder surgery could potentially threaten his entire 2023 campaign, depending on the severity of his injury and the specific nature of the procedure.  He was initially set back by lat soreness during Spring Training, and will now miss a chance to follow up on a promising 2021 season.

Making his big league debut in 2020, Funkhouser posted a 7.27 ERA over his first 17 1/3 frames in the Show, but he had decidedly better results last year.  Despite a mediocre 12.8% walk rate and a below-average 21.1% strikeout rate, Funkhouser rode a 53.2% grounder rate and a lot of soft contact to a 3.42 ERA over 68 1/3 innings.  The Tigers frequently used Funkhouser for more than one inning, and he also made two “starts” (in opener fashion) in bullpen games.

Faedo and Funkhouser join Casey Mize (Tommy John surgery) as the Detroit pitchers whose injuries were season-ending, but the large majority of the pitching staff has spent time on the injured list with some type of issue.  Just in today’s game, Michael Pineda had to leave early due to right tricep tightness, creating another possible hole in the rotation.  Righty Rony Garcia was expected to be activated from the 15-day IL in time to start tomorrow’s game.

Pineda, 33, signed a one-year, $5.5MM contract with the Tigers this offseason after spending the previous four years with the division-rival Twins. He’s out to a nice start, with a 3.22 ERA through his first 22 1/3 innings on the season. However, he’s also averaged fewer than five innings per outing and has posted a career-worst 13.6% strikeout rate. Pineda’s once-blazing fastball averaged just 90.9 mph with the Twins in 2021 and is sitting at 90.6 mph so far in 2022, though he’s maintained outstanding control, evidenced by his 4.5% walk rate.

The fractured finger for Pineda is the latest in a mountain of pitching injuries for the Tigers so far in a disappointing 2022 season. Detroit already knew that Spencer Turnbull would be shelved for most or all of the season following last summer’s Tommy John surgery, but he’s been joined on the injured list by Casey Mize (sprained MCL in his elbow), Matt Manning (shoulder inflammation), Tyler Alexander (elbow sprain) and now Pineda.

With a rotation’s worth of arms on the shelf, the Tigers are leaning heavily on veteran Eduardo Rodriguez, breakout 25-year-old Tarik Skubal, with little clarity beyond that duo. Former first-rounder Alex Faedo got the nod in last night’s game, while rookie Beau Brieske has held his own through four starts despite an unpalatable 11-to-10 K/BB ratio in 21 frames. Veteran Wily Peralta was an unexpected boon in the rotation last year and could be stretched out from his current multi-inning relief role, and the Tigers also took a look at left-hander Joey Wentz when they called him up for his MLB debut recently.

The final few rotation spots could be in a state of flux while Detroit weathers this stretch of injuries, however. Right-hander Chase Anderson, who has a 4.02 ERA in seven Triple-A starts, gives the organization one possible veteran option to consider as they look to piece things together.

May 14: Tigers right-hander Michael Pineda had to leave today’s game in the second inning after being hit in his throwing hand by a Ramon Urias line drive.  Following the game, manager A.J. Hinch told reporters (including MLB.com’s Jason Beck) that Pineda had suffered a fractured right middle finger.  A trip to the injured list is inevitable, and Hinch said that Pineda will visit specialists to determine the next course of action in recovery.

It’s a tough outcome for both Pineda and the Tigers, who are already missing multiple members of their ideal starting rotation.  Matt Manning (shoulder discomfort) may be within a week or two of returning to action, but Casey Mize (elbow sprain) didn’t last long in his first rehab start, and his rehab assignment has now been paused.  Tyler Alexander also made some spot starts earlier this season, before a left elbow sprain put the southpaw on the shelf.

Pineda missed some time himself at the start of the year, as visa issues delayed his arrival to Spring Training and thus his preseason prep was delayed.  Though five starts and 22 1/3 innings, Pineda has a 3.22 ERA, though with only a 13.63% strikeout rate.  While that K% is a particular low, Pineda’s story for the last four seasons has been delivering some solid bottom-line numbers (3.77 ERA over 303 innings) despite generally unimpressive peripherals.  Pineda signed a one-year, $5.5MM deal that contains up to $2.5MM in bonus money based on innings totals, but he’ll have trouble hitting any of those innings thresholds if he misses substantial time on the IL.

The Tigers signed Pineda to add some veteran experience to their young staff, and just five weeks into the season, that pitching depth has already been sorely tested.  Tarik Skubal has been excellent and Eduardo Rodriguez has started to turn things around after a rough start, but Detroit has turned to Beau Brieske, Alex Faedo, and Joey Wentz to all make their first Major League starts.

Faedo was already expected to be recalled from Triple-A to start Monday’s game, and Brieske will likely stick in the rotation after having posted some decent results to date.  Wentz could also get another look for a start or two until the Tigers feel Manning is ready to be activated from the injured list.

In an appearance on MLB Network Radio yesterday, manager A.J. Hinch said initial results indicated they’d “avoided any sort of catastrophic occurrence” (relayed by Jason Beck of MLB.com). Mize himself addressed the matter this afternoon, saying he “(feels) good” because he’s “not having surgery and … going to pitch again soon” (via Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free-Press).

That Mize appears to have avoided a serious injury is obviously fantastic news for the club. The former first overall pick is an integral part of the organization’s present and future. That’s also true of Manning, himself a former top ten draftee and highly-regarded prospect. The 6’6″ hurler left his start over the weekend with shoulder discomfort. Detroit placed him on the injured list due to inflammation this afternoon, but Hinch didn’t sound particularly concerned. The manager said Manning is hoping to resume throwing as soon as this weekend (Beck link), suggesting his stay on the IL could be brief.

Even if Manning returns in short order, the Tigers will be down a couple starters through an ongoing stretch of six consecutive games without an off-day. In response, Detroit announced tonight they’re recalling veteran Michael Pineda to make his season debut tomorrow afternoon against the Yankees. Signed to a $5.5MM guarantee in Spring Training, Pineda consented to be optioned to open the year after being delayed in reporting to camp by visa issues.

The hope had been for the big righty to start three games with Triple-A Toledo before being called up, but he’ll be pressed into action after two minor league appearances by the injuries to Mize and Manning. Now that he’s in the majors again, Pineda figures to take the ball every fifth day as a regular member of the rotation. Once Mize and Manning return, Tyler Alexander would likely be bumped into a long relief role — assuming the club avoids intervening injuries.

It’s a bit of a surprising move, as Singer is coming off the better season. Neither hurler had a good ERA in 2021, but Singer had a better strikeout and ground-ball rate than Lynch while issuing slightly fewer walks. Lynch generated a slightly higher whiff rate, but Singer was among the league’s best pitchers at picking up called strikes. Some evaluators raised concerns during Singer’s prospect days about whether his below-average changeup and lower arm slot could diminish his ability to turn a lineup over multiple times, but he’s not shown marked second or third times through the order splits in his career thus far. Injuries and/or underperformance to the front five figure to give Singer another rotation look in the near future.

More pitching updates from around the division:

• The Tigers are planning to use Wily Peralta in relief this season, writes Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free-Press. The righty started 18 of 19 appearances with Detroit last year, posting a solid 3.07 ERA but an underwhelming 14.4% strikeout rate. The Tigers brought Peralta back on a minor league contract this spring. He seems likely to get another big league call fairly soon, but he was delayed in reporting to Spring Training because of visa issues and is set for further ramp-up work in the minors. The Tigers added Michael Pineda on a one-year big league deal to assume the final rotation spot behind Eduardo Rodríguez, Casey Mize, Tarik Skubal and Matt Manning. Pineda — held up by visa concerns of his own — consented to be optioned to Triple-A Toledo to open the year for more build-up time, giving Tyler Alexander the #5 spot for the season’s first couple weeks. Pineda tossed three innings for the Mud Hens yesterday, and Petzold notes he’s likely to make two more appearances there before being recalled to the majors.
• The Twins made a last-minute addition to their rotation before Opening Day, acquiring Chris Paddack from the Padres in a deal that involved four MLB players changing hands. Minnesota already had a starting five of Sonny Gray, Joe Ryan, Dylan Bundy, Bailey Ober and Chris Archer lined up, and manager Rocco Baldelli told reporters (including Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com) the Twins will roll with a six-man starting staff to open the season. Active rosters are expanded from 26 to 28 through April, giving teams flexibility to carry plenty of arms. Minnesota is also carrying top prospects Josh Winder and Jhoan Duran on the Opening Day roster, with both working in relief. Duran is expected to remain in that role (where he shined in two innings during his MLB debut this afternoon); Winder could be a rotation option down the line, and Baldelli said Winder could shoulder as much as five innings during an appearance out of the ’pen in the early going (Park link).

That matters for Pineda, whose contract includes a number of innings bonuses, per Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press (via Twitter). Pineda will receive $375K for hitting each of the 50, 75, 100, and 125 inning benchmarks, and he would receive an additional $500K for tossing 150 and 175 innings. In total, that amounts to an extra $2.5MM that he could add to the $5.5MM base sum.

March 18: The Tigers have fortified the back of their rotation, reportedly agreeing to terms with Michael Pineda on a one-year, $5.5MM guarantee. The deal, which is pending a physical, also contains another $2.5MM in possible incentives. Pineda is a client of ISE Baseball.

Detroit has ben searching for additional rotation help in recent days. General manager Al Avila acknowledged they made an unsuccessful run at Zack Greinke before he signed with the division-rival Royals. The Tigers were linked to Frankie Montas and Sean Manaea, both of whom the A’s have made available via trade. Avila implied yesterday that the Detroit front office might not meet the A’s ask on those two starters, though, and it seems they’ve instead pivoted to Pineda.

Tigers fans have seen plenty of the big right-hander over the past few years. Pineda has spent the last three seasons with the Twins, generally offering capable if not overwhelming production. He worked 282 cumulative innings with Minnesota, pitching to a 3.80 ERA while holding opponents to a .257/.296/.428 slash line. Pineda’s 21.6% strikeout rate in that time was a bit below the league mark, but he only walked 4.8% of batters faced and generally did well to keep the ball in the park.

Pineda’s availability was a bit spotty during his Twins tenure. He had four injured list stints between 2019 and 2021, although none of those stays on the shelf lasted more than a month. He also missed some time late in 2019 and early in 2020 serving a suspension after testing positive for a banned substance. When able to take the mound, Pineda generally performed alright. Last season, he tossed 109 1/3 frames in 22 appearances (21 starts), pitching to a 3.62 ERA.

That came with a career-worst 19.2% strikeout percentage, though. Pineda also averaged a personal-low 90.9 MPH on his fastball and had the lowest swinging strike rate (10.5%) of his eight-year big league career. That seemingly contributed to a lack of leaguewide interest at last summer’s trade deadline, as the Twins held onto Pineda all year despite moving a few players in July amidst a disappointing season.

Pineda’s stock isn’t as high as it had been earlier in his career, but it’s still a plenty sensible dice roll for the Tigers. Detroit has a top four of Eduardo Rodriguez, Casey Mize, Tarik Skubal and Matt Manning, but the final rotation spot remained up in the air. Swingman Tyler Alexander and non-roster invitees Chase Anderson and Wily Peralta seemed the likeliest candidates for the #5 spot heading into today. Pineda’s signing will presumably push Alexander back into a multi-inning relief role, with Anderson and Peralta competing for depth spots. It’ll also help Detroit brass keep the innings totals of their younger arms in check.

Avila said yesterday the Tigers were prepared to make an offer to Greinke comparable to the $13MM guarantee he received from the Royals. It doesn’t come as much surprise they had enough in the coffers to put less than half that on the table for Pineda. Detroit’s projected player payroll is up to around $129MM, according to Jason Martinez of Roster Resource. That’s well above where they’ve been in recent seasons as they’ve been firmly amidst a rebuild, but it’s nowhere near the franchise-record levels of years past (or the luxury tax thresholds). How far owner Chris Ilitch is willing to push isn’t clear, but it stands to reason there may still be some room for the front office to explore further additions.

Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free-Press first reported the Tigers were in agreement with Pineda on a one-year deal. Jon Heyman of the MLB Network was first to report the financial terms.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Eduardo Rodriguez was signed to a five-year, $77MM deal back in November, thus giving Detroit a veteran arm to augment the promising young rotation trio of Casey Mize, Tarik Skubal, and Matt Manning.  Even with Peralta now in the fold as well, adding yet another full-time starter would give the Tigers more depth in the event of injury, or if any of the younger hurlers aren’t quite yet ready to deliver at the Major League level.  Neither Greinke or Pineda are exactly sure things themselves, of course, but they do bring plenty of experience to a Tigers team that plans to return to contention.

Greinke’s 17.2% strikeout rate last season was his lowest since 2006, while his 17.4% home run rate was the highest of his 18-year career.  The veteran righty also missed time due to both neck soreness and the COVID-related injury list during the last two months of the season, and thus the Astros only used Greinke on a sparing and limited basis during their postseason run.

This said, Greinke was still an effective pitcher overall, posting an elite 5.2% walk rate and solid hard-contact numbers en route to a 4.16 ERA over 171 innings for Houston.  Even as Greinke enters his age-38 season, there is plenty of indication that he can still be a strong contributor to a big league rotation, though his days of being an All-Star caliber starter are probably over.

Pineda is only 33, but carries more durability questions than Greinke.  Three separate IL stints limited Pineda to 109 1/3 innings with the Twins last season, and he also missed all of 2018 recovering from a Tommy John surgery.  When Pineda did pitch last year, he performed well via the bottom-line number of a 3.62 ERA, though his Statcast metrics were much less flattering, apart from an outstanding 4.6% walk rate.  Pineda had some of the worst hard-contact numbers of any pitcher in baseball, and his 19.2% strikeout rate was both well below the league average and the worst K% of Pineda’s eight big league seasons.

It would certainly seem likely that either Greinke or Pineda would be available on a one-year contract, which would fit a Detroit club that could be looking for more supplementary pieces after already spending big on E-Rod and Javier Baez.  MLBTR ranked Greinke 40th on our list of the winter’s top 50 free agents and projected him for a one-year, $15MM deal.  Pineda signed two-year deals with the Twins in each of his last two visits to the open market, though both of those contracts (worth $10MM and $20MM, respectively) were impacted by his Tommy John recovery and the 60-game PED suspension that cost him parts of the 2019 and 2020 season.

While the presence of Ryan Jeffers ultimately made Garver expendable, Minnesota now has a new everyday shortstop, and a player who has generally looked like one of the league’s better defensive players no matter where Texas lined him up on the diamond.  Kiner-Falefa said he is happy to be getting an opportunity to start at what he considers his natural position of shortstop, and his addition means that the Twins can now keep Jorge Polanco at second base.

More from around the AL Central…

• With Eduardo Rodriguez signed as the new headliner of the Tigers rotation, the team continues to look for more veteran help to fill a fourth or fifth starter role.  According to Evan Petzold of The Detroit Free Press, the Tigers had interest in Tyler Anderson both before and after the lockout, though they are “not aggressively pursuing Anderson” at the moment.  For some familiar AL Central names, Detroit is also not making a particular push towards free agent Michael Pineda, and the Tigers weren’t looking at Carlos Rodon before Rodon signed with the Giants yesterday.
• A former Tiger is under consideration, however, as Petzold writes that the Tigers are among the multiple clubs interested in Matthew Boyd, who was non-tendered by Detroit in November.  Boyd’s projected $7.3MM arbitration price tag was too expensive for the Tigers considering that the southpaw was hampered by injuries last season and underwent flexor tendon surgery in September.  Boyd’s recovery will extend into the season but he is aiming to return by June 1.
• “The pitching concerns might be a little heavier on our mind than the position player side of things,” White Sox GM Rick Hahn told The Athletic’s James Fegan and other reporters in discussing his club’s remaining targets during the offseason.  With so many available arms already flying off the board, Fegan guesses that bolstering the back end of the rotation now looks like a more immediately priority for the Sox than addressing other needs like second base or the outfield.  White Sox manager Tony La Russa told Fegan and other reporters today that pitching depth will be particularly important this season given the shortened Spring Training, though La Russa said his club is still aiming for a five-man rotation rather than a six-man staff.

There’s no indication the Twins and Pineda have begun extension talks, but Minnesota has already re-signed Pineda once. He’s spent the past four seasons in the Twins organization, playing on a pair of two-year deals ($10MM and $20MM, respectively). It’s been a mixed bag of a season for Pineda, who sports a 3.62 ERA through 109 1/3 innings. He’s missed time due to both an elbow injury and an oblique strain, the former of which surely curbed interest in him at the trade deadline.

Pineda’s average fastball is down to a career-low 90.9 mph, and his 19.2 percent strikeout rate is also a career-low. He’s allowing more hard contact than ever before, both in terms of average exit velocity (91.2 mph) and hard-hit rate (46.1 percent). That said, Pineda is also sporting one of the best walk rates of his career (4.6 percent), the best first-pitch strike rate of his career (69.7 percent) and continues to be one of the best in the game at inducing swings on pitches outside the strike zone.

The Twins have an obvious need for rotation help next season. They traded away Jose Berrios for a pair of high-end prospects at the deadline and lost righty Kenta Maeda to Tommy John surgery. Rookie Bailey Ober has stepped up and laid claim to a 2021 spot with a quietly solid debut campaign. Right-hander Joe Ryan, whom they acquired from the Rays in exchange for Nelson Cruz, has been excellent through the first four starts of his own career. Minnesota has plenty of near-MLB prospects as well — Jordan Balazovic, Jhoan Duran, Josh Winder and Matt Canterino among them — but there’s no experienced starter returning to next year’s staff with Maeda likely to miss the 2022 season.

Minnesota figures to pursue multiple veterans in free agency and via the trade market this winter, as owner Jim Pohlad has already emphatically declared that even after trading Berrios, his club isn’t planning on embarking on a rebuilding effort. A Pineda reunion wouldn’t be the marquee addition for their staff this offseason, but he’d give the team some continuity from a leadership standpoint and some innings at the back of the rotation behind whichever higher-profile arms the Twins ultimately pursue.

Of course, Pineda voicing his own desire to return in no way guarantees the interest will be reciprocated, but Baldelli’s comments at least indicate that he’ll be making his own pitch to the front office to keep Pineda in the fold. Given the injuries Pineda has battled and the drop in fastball velocity, it’s possible the Twins’ front office will simply decide it’s best to move on. At the same time, however, those factors will limit Pineda’s appeal on the market and could force him into an affordable one-year pact, which could pique the club’s interest.

The injury developed during Pineda’s start against the Rays last night, as Pineda allowed four runs over 2 2/3 innings before leaving the game after a visit on the mound from the team trainer.  Speaking with reporters (including Betsy Helfand of the St. Paul Pioneer Press) today, Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said the injury isn’t expected to be serious enough to prevent Pineda from returning to the mound before the season is through.

That’s good news in both the short term and the longer term for Pineda, who can use his remaining starts to further bolster his free agent case for the offseason.  The subject of several rumors leading up to the July 30 trade deadline, Pineda ended up staying in Minnesota, which counted as a surprise considering his rental player status and the fact that as of July 26, the Twins had yet to engage the righty’s representatives in negotiations about a contract extension.

It’s been a mixed bag for Pineda in 2021, making him an interesting entry for teams to evaluate on the open market this winter.  Pineda has a solid 4.13/4.24 ERA over 85 innings, and he has continued his career-long ability to limit free passes by delivering another excellent (4.8%) walk rate.  However, Pineda has also allowed a lot of hard contact and his 20.6% strikeout rate is well below the league average.

Durability is also still a question mark, as Pineda has now made three trips to the injured list this season.  (He had a 10-day absence in May after undergoing a procedure to have an abscess removed from his thigh, and he also missed three weeks due to elbow inflammation.)  Pineda has missed two full seasons of his pro career due to a shoulder surgery and a Tommy John surgery, and he also missed 60 games spanning the 2019-20 seasons due to a PED suspension.  Heading into his age 33 season, Pineda has tossed 354 innings since the start of the 2017 campaign.

2:39pm: The Twins have numerous offers in hand for Berrios, per Ken Rosenthal and Dan Hayes of The Athletic, who add that the market has exceeded the Twins’ initial expectations (Twitter link). A trade is seen as increasingly likely. TSN’s Scott Mitchell tweets that the Blue Jays are “definitely” in the mix for Berrios.

2:34pm: The Twins are getting “bombarded” with offers for Berrios, Nightengale tweets, adding that the Padres in particular are being aggressive in their efforts.

1:58pm: Some teams who’ve spoken to the Twins about Berrios get the sense that they’re more willing to move him now than they were earlier in the summer, tweets MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand.

MLB Network’s Jon Heyman lists the Dodgers as a team with interest, and, like myriad other recent reports, also indicates the Padres have interest. Dan Hayes of The Athletic recently wrote that the Padres had interest in Berrios, Michael Pineda and Kenta Maeda. USA Today’s Bob Nightengale wrote this morning that San Diego is more focused on Berrios than on Max Scherzer.

8:11am: The Twins have already traded away Nelson Cruz, and with an off-day Thursday, today’s focus figures to be entirely on their deadline efforts to reload the club for 2022 and beyond. Jose Berrios is Minnesota’s most coveted trade candidate, and Phil Miller of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune writes that offers for Berrios “have spiked” with the trade deadline now less than 48 hours away.

MLB.com’s Jon Morosi tweets that the Mariners have been pursuing a Berrios acquisition this week, with the Twins focusing on one of Seattle’s top pitching prospects (Emerson Hancock or George Kirby) as part of a multi-player return. The two sides aren’t close to a deal, Morosi adds. Both Hancock (2020) and Kirby (2019) were first-round picks in recent Mariners drafts and have pitched at Class-A Advanced this year. Both players have missed time with shoulder fatigue this year, but Hancock returned this week and Kirby is expected back within the next couple of weeks, Ryan Divish of the Seattle Times tweeted a couple days ago.

The Mets, too, have been linked to Berrios throughout the month of July, but all indications to this point have been that they consider the asking price too steep. Indeed, Dan Hayes of The Athletic reports that the Mets are “very” interested but also had “sticker shock” when the Twins initially asked for a combination of two top-100 prospects and a young big leaguer. Beyond that, the Mets’ lack of premium pitching prospects may be a problem. Joel Sherman of the New York Post writes that the Mets would perhaps need to involve a third team if they hoped to actually land Berrios. They’ve recently been more connected to rental pitchers.

Of course, virtually every contender or pseudo-contender has checked in with the Twins on Berrios’ asking price, given his affordable $6.1MM salary for the 2021 season as well as his remaining year of arbitration eligibility before free agency. The 27-year-old Berrios is enjoying the best season of an already impressive career, having pitched to a 3.48 ERA with career-best marks in strikeout percentage (25.7) and ground-ball percentage (43.6). His 6.5 percent walk rate is the second-lowest of his career, and the durable right-hander’s current pace would put him in line to land somewhere in the 195 to 200 range in terms of total innings pitched.