Tigers sign right-hander Michael Pineda

The Tigers have been one of the more active teams this offseason, signing Javier Baez, Eduardo Rodriguez and Andrew Chafin and trading for Tucker Barnhart, among other moves. And on Friday, they made yet another big splash.

Detroit is signing right-handed pitcher Michael Pineda to a one-year contract, as first reported by Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press. Per MLB Network's Jon Heyman, the deal is worth $5.5 million with an additional $2.5 million in incentives.

Pineda figures to slot in somewhere near the front of the Tigers' rotation. Rodriguez has been named the Opening Day starter, and Detroit sports a trio of stud young pitchers in Casey Mize, Tarik Skubal and Matt Manning who will also find their way into the rotation in some order.

As those young pups continue to develop into frontline starters themselves, Pineda will provide a veteran presence for at least this season. He and lefty Rodriguez form one of the more formidable veteran starter duos in the AL Central.

Tigers fans are likely familiar with Pineda already, as he spent the last three seasons pitching for the Twins. Over three seasons with Minnesota, he logged a 3.80 ERA and a 116 ERA+, meaning he was comfortably better than league average (100). In 2021, he had a 3.62 ERA and a 117 ERA+.

Between the Twins, Yankees and Mariners, Pineda has logged a 3.98 ERA and a 105 ERA+ with 940 career strikeouts. He was an All-Star as a rookie with Seattle in 2011.