Mariners put other side of Pineda trade on waivers
The New York Yankees traded for Michael Pineda in January 2012 in exchanged for top prospect Jesus Montero and Hector Noesi. As Pineda got injured rather quick, many Yankee fans started to complain about the bad deal. It took Pineda a long time before he was back on the MLB roster. In 2014 he won the fifth rotation spot with the Yankees.
Montero on the other side made the Mariners’ roster immediately in 2012 right from ST camp. In a season in which he played 135 games, he split time as a catcher and as a DH. Despite being a top prospect, he batted only .260 for the season. Next year he had gained “some” weight during the off season as he reported at a 40 pounds overweight. It became clear that he wasn’t a good fit behind homeplate, so the M’s gave him a chance to learn the position of first base. But after injuring himself and while rehabbing with the Everett AquaSox, he got involved in a fight with a scout who sent an ice cream sandwich to Montero in the dugout. This ticked off Montero so much that he climed into the stands with a bat in his hand and shouting obscenities to the scout. He was kept in check by the AquaSox pitching coach. Because of his behaviour during this incident, he was banned by the Mariners for the rest of the season. In 2015, Montero split the season between AAA Tacoma and Seattle. With the Rainiers he hit fairly well (.355) and posted a good fielding percentage at 1B (.992). With the Mariners, he did even better at first base, posting an FP of .995 but his bat remained dormant as he hit only .223, while this used to be his strength in the past (at least at MiLB level).
In 2014, Pineda was caught in a pine-tar incident and was suspended for ten games by MLB. During his ban, he strained a muscle near his rotator cuff. It took him until August to return. He finished the 2014 season with a 5-5 record and a 1.89 ERA.
In 2015 Pineda showed lots of promise but as the season continued he started to struggle. For every game he pitched well, he also pitched a game in which he did not live up the expectations. It seemed that he was not always mentally strong. As he gave up a homerun, he had a hard time to bounce back and pick up the game. Pineda finished the 2015 season with a 4.37 ERA and a 12-10 record.
Today the news was spread that the Mariners have put Montero on waivers. According to NBC Sports, the 26-year old had a rough Spring Training as he hit only .237. It took a while to decide who got the better part of the deal, but after all you can say that the Yankees did.