New York Yankees: Is Michael Pineda worth keeping in 2018?

The Bad

Among the long list of positive things that can be mentioned about Pineda, the expansion of that list in regards to problems may be longer.

Pineda still hasn’t reached that level of dominance that he was once at early in his career. Since 2014, he hasn’t posted an ERA below 4.00 and he’s averaged nearly 10 hits per nine innings, which is uninspiring.

Opponents test his composure, and more often than not, they are victorious in that battle. Despite possessing an electric collection of pitches, he gets flustered easily.

In two of his final starts prior to his surgery, he allowed five runs in three innings one start, while surrendering seven runs in just four innings in another.

This year, Pineda experienced an interesting campaign. Unlike 2016, when the pitcher was arguably awful throughout the majority of the year with some superior stretches, he generally did well against even the more potent lineups.

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Before the final three starts of his season, his ERA was at 3.56, which is moderate compared to most other MLB starters. His strikeout rate wasn’t as striking as in the past, but he still averaged more than eight per nine innings.

But he still has issues with his control, which has resulted in an uptick in major mistakes. While he kept his walks down to a minimum, he allowed more than 20 homers in each of the past three seasons. In 2017, hitters blasted 20 bombs against him in just 96 1/3 innings of work.

That, along with the unexpectedness of his future health issues and rebound from surgery, could force Cashman and company to look elsewhere for pitching help. With guys like Alex Cobb and Lance Lynn available, Pineda could be near the bottom of the New York’s holiday shopping list.

Surely, Pineda will be back on the mound when he his healthy again. Yet, due to his inconsistent nature and mediocre numbers across the past few years, it seems that 2017 was the last time fans will see “Big Mike” in pinstripes.

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