Twins Starter Michael Pineda Suspended 60 Games for PED Use
By Parker White
This is not something the Minnesota Twins were hoping for down the stretch.
On Saturday, Twins right-handed starter Michael Pineda received a 60-game suspension for violating Major League Baseball's drug policy, according to Jon Heyman of MLB Network.
Michael Pineda gets 60 game ban for PEDs
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) September 7, 2019
Not only will Pineda miss the remainder of the 2019 season, but he'd be ineligible from postseason play because of the PED suspension.
According to Do-Hyoung Park of MLB.com, Pineda tested positive for hydrochlorothiazide, which is a diuretic that's in violation of MLB's drug policy.
Michael Pineda has received a 60-game suspension after testing positive for hydrochlorothiazide, a diuretic in violation of Major League Baseball’s Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program.
— Do-Hyoung Park (@dohyoungpark) September 7, 2019
Of course, the standard amount of games a player is suspended for is 80, but according to ESPN's Jeff Passan, it was reduced after an appeal where Pineda made a compelling case that the diuretic wasn't used to mask PED's.
Twins starter Michael Pineda has been suspended for 60 games for a drug violation, sources tell ESPN. He originally got an 80-game suspension, but it was reduced to 60 on appeal, as a compelling case was made that a banned diuretic he used was not a masking agent for PEDs.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) September 7, 2019
This is a huge loss for the Twins, as Pineda has been fantastic in the second half of the season where he's posted a 3.04 ERA over his last nine starts, including Friday night where he allowed just one run with 10 strikeouts over six innings of work.
Minnesota's task of clinching the AL Central just got a whole lot taller, and they'll miss Pineda when the postseason rolls around.