Yankees Rumors: Michael Pineda Drawing Interest

New York Yankees Rumors: Starting pitcher Michael Pineda has drawn interest as a trade target, but the Yankees are likely to hold onto him.

New York Yankees rumors have been quiet in recent weeks. The Yankees look done making moves in free agency, with their big ticket item being Aroldis Chapman. New York also signed Matt Holliday to help out at designated hitter, but the Yankees were quiet on the starting pitching front.

The Yankees could use some help in their starting rotation as it is filled with question marks. Masahiro Tanaka is the ace and C.C. Sabathia will have a spot, but both come with concerns.

Tanaka has a preconditioned elbow condition and could become a free agent with his opt-out clause. Sabathia reinvented himself last season as a soft-tossing lefty; can that happen again in 2017?

Beyond that, there is basically nothing set in stone in the starting rotation. The closest thing to a certainty is that Michael Pineda will factor into the rotation somewhere. He is not on as firm of standing as Tanaka or Sabathia but could be an x-factor for the Yankees this upcoming season.

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There is no denying the potential and talent that Pineda has. He was a top prospect with the Seattle Mariners when the Yankees acquired him for Jesus Montero and his stuff is very good; he just has to figure out how to put it to better use.

Last season Pineda had a 4.82 ERA and 1.35 WHIP, which could partly be attributed to poor luck. He had a .339 batting average on balls in play and 17 percent home run rate. Those are ugly numbers, but his advancted metrics painted a nicer picture.

Pineda had a 3.80 FIP, 3.30 xFIP, 3.40 SIERA, 10.61 K/9, 3.91 K/BB rate according to MLBTradeRumors.com. Those numbers put into perspective that Pineda may not have pitched as poorly as some of his raw stats would make it out to be. It is also why team’s have targeted him as a buy-low candidate this winter in a free agent class void of many viable options.

According to Andrew Marchand of ESPN New York, the Yankees have fielded plenty of calls on Pineda from team’s that are still high on his upside. The Yankees have turned away those offers, as they are hoping that he can figure things out for them in pinstripes, not for another team elsewhere.

Pineda is entering a make-or-break season. He will be a free agent after 2017 and could set himself up for a nice payday should his potential shine through. But, should he struggle again, people will start to take his numbers for what they look like no matter what the advanced metrics and his potential may say.

Pineda’s performance this season will have a major impact on the Yankees. If he pitches poorly, they will struggle to make a postseason push. If he does well, the team stands to be in a better position come August and September. But, if he pitches well, he could also be someone the Yankees flip at the trade deadline.

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It is a move we saw the Yankees make this past season with Chapman. They traded him to the Chicago Cubs for a nice haul of prospects and re-signed him in the offseason. It is something they could do with Pineda as well should he perform well and be someone the Yankees want to keep in their future plans.

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