Minnesota is losing an important part of its rotation, as right-hander Michael Pineda has been caught for violating MLB's drug policy.
The league announced Saturday, the starter has been suspended for 60 games without pay after testing positive for hydrochlorothiazide, a diuretic.. Pineda was initially suspended for 80 games, but an appeal helped him lighten the load.
His suspension will be effective immediately and will force him to miss the remainder of the regular season and playoffs.
Pineda admitted he was at fault for taking the substance without permission from team personnel. But he was still caught off guard by the final result.
"I mistakenly took a medication that was given to me by a close acquaintance, who obtained it over the counter and assured me it would safely help me manage my weight," Pineda said in a statement. "I ingested a few of these pills without the consent of the Twins' training staff.
"This was shocking for me to hear. I never intended to cheat the system, other players or opposing teams."
The Twins were disappointed with the outcome, but voiced support for MLB's policy following the decision.
“We were disappointed to learn of the suspension of Michael Pineda for violating Major League Baseball's Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program," the Twins said in a statement. "We fully support Major League Baseball's policy and its efforts to eliminate banned substances from our game. Per the protocol outlined in the Joint Drug Program, the Minnesota Twins will not comment further on this matter.”
This is bad news for Minnesota considering Pineda is 11-5 through 26 starts this season. He's had a 3.10 ERA in his last 15 starts for a Twins team that has the eighth-best ERA in MLB in 2019.
Pineda, 30, signed with the Twins in 2017 but didn't take the mound for them until this year because of injuries. He's been instrumental to the team's strong showing in 2019, but now he's lost until 2020 at the earliest.
Jake Odorizzi, Kyle Gibson, Jose Berrios and Martin Perez will have to pick up the slack in Pineda's absence.
Minnesota is 5 1/2 games ahead of the Indians in the American League Central standings.