TIGERS/ANGELS
Kinsler dealt to LA
DETROIT — A person with knowledge of the deal said the Detroit Tigers have agreed to trade veteran second baseman Ian Kinsler to the Los Angeles Angels for two minor leaguers.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity Wednesday night because the deal hadn’t been announced. Detroit receives righthander Wilkel Hernandez, 18, and outfielder Troy Montgomery, 23. Kinsler, 35, hit .236 with 22 home runs and 52 RBI last season, but the rebuilding Tigers no longer need him. Kinsler spent four years with Detroit after being acquired from Texas in a trade for Prince Fielder, and he was generally productive, although his batting average dipped to a career low in 2017.
TWINS
Pineda signs for 2 years
MINNEAPOLIS -- The Minnesota Twins have taken another step toward deepening their starting pitching.
This boost won't take effect for a while.
The Twins signed former New York Yankees right-hander Michael Pineda to a two-year, $10 million contract Wednesday, a move made with 2019 in mind. Pineda is recovering from Tommy John surgery performed July 18, putting him on track to return to a major league mound possibly late in the 2018 season.
"We all know, when he's healthy, what he can do," Manager Paul Molitor said during baseball's winter meetings in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.
For now, the focus will be on Pineda's rehabilitation from the elbow ligament replacement procedure.
"Obviously, it's going to run up near the end of the year," Molitor said. "At the very worst, we're hoping he goes into the next offseason being able to do his regular work and not worry about rehabbing and be ready for '19."
Pineda will make $2 million in 2018 and $8 million in 2019. He went 8-4 with a 4.39 ERA in 17 starts with 92 strikeouts in 96 1/3 innings for the Yankees last year before being sidelined.
"Never having spoken to him until recently, just encouraged by his energy and desire to, when he gets healthy, come back and help a team," Molitor said. "Thankfully, he chose us."
The 6-foot-7, 260-pound Pineda began his career with the Seattle Mariners, making the American League All-Star team as a rookie in 2011. He was acquired by the Yankees the following winter in a four-player trade for catcher Jesus Montero, before a torn labrum in his throwing shoulder kept him out of action for two full seasons.
Upon his return to the Yankees rotation in 2014, Pineda was ejected from a late-April start and eventually suspended for 10 games by MLB for using pine tar on the mound to grip the ball. He went to the disabled list with a muscle injury around his shoulder and didn't return until mid-August.
The 28-year-old posted a cumulative 4.56 ERA in 76 starts over his final three seasons with the Yankees, with 455 strikeouts in 432 2/3 innings. In his second start of 2017, Pineda took a perfect game through 20 outs against the Tampa Bay Rays and compiled 11 strikeouts in 7 2/3 innings. He first complained of elbow trouble following a June 30 appearance and pitched only once more before the surgery.
MARINERS
Two pitchers added
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- The Seattle Mariners have landed two pitchers in a pair of trades in exchange for some of the international slot money the club had acquired in the hopes of landing Shohei Ohtani.
The Mariners got right-hander Shawn Armstrong from Cleveland on Wednesday and picked up minor-league lefty Anthony Misiewicz from Tampa Bay. Misiewicz was previously in the Mariners organization before being dealt to Tampa Bay last season.
Armstrong is the most likely to help Seattle immediately. The 27-year-old made 21 relief appearances for Cleveland last season and posted a 4.38 ERA in 24 2/3 innings. Armstrong also had brief stints with the Indians in the 2015 and 2016 seasons.
Misiewicz, 23, was 3-3 with a 4.35 ERA with the Arkansas Travelers last season. He has not pitched above Class AA, but was 11-6 with 141 strikeouts in 147 2/3 total innings pitching at the Class A and Class AA levels last season for three teams.
METS
Swarzak agrees to 2-year deal
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- A person familiar with the contract tells The Associated Press that free-agent reliever Anthony Swarzak has reached a deal with the New York Mets.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity Wednesday at the winter meetings because Swarzak still needed to complete a physical. Swarzak is set to get $14 million over two years.
Swarzak was a combined 6-4 with 2 saves and a 2.33 ERA in 70 games last season for the Chicago White Sox and Milwaukee. The 32-year-old righty has pitched for five teams in the last four years, including Minnesota, Cleveland and the Yankees.
The Mets went 70-92 and came to the meetings looking for relief help.
Swarzak is 23-30 with a 4.22 ERA over 8 seasons. He began his big league career in 2009 with the Twins and was a starter his first year, then began moving into a relief role.
Sports on 12/14/2017