Joel Pineiro

From SoSH

Joel Alberto Piñeiro (born September 25, 1978 in Rio Pedres, Puerto Rico) is a right-handed pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals. He pitched in 31 games for the Red Sox in 2007.

Contents 1 Overall Career 2 Trivia 3 Transactions 4 External Links

Overall Career

Piñeiro was 21 years old when he broke into the big leagues on August 8, 2000, with the Seattle Mariners. He began 2001 at Triple-A Tacoma before being called up on July 5. Piñeiro appeared in 17 games, bouncing between the bullpen and the starting rotation, posting a 6-2 record with a 2.03 ERA.

Piñeiro moved into the Mariners' rotation in 2002, going 14-7 with a 3.24 ERA in 28 starts. The numbers earned him Seattle's Pitcher of the Year honors from the city's Baseball Writers Association of America chapter. Following another successful season in 2003, setting career highs in wins (16), innings pitched (211.2), complete games (3), shutouts (2) and strikeouts (151), Piñeiro's numbers dipped drastically in 2004, before being placed on the disabled list July 27, 2004 with a sore elbow that subsequently ended his season. His struggles continued in 2005 and was optioned to Triple-A Tacoma to work on his mechanics. He returned to the majors ten days later and started a total of 30 games; however he was unable to return to his previous form and posted a 5.62 ERA for the year. 2006 wasn't much better. On August 15, following a string of bad outings, including allowing nine runs in 3 2/3 innings against the Oakland Athletics, Mariner's manager Mike Hargrove moved Piñeiro from the rotation and into the bullpen. In 24.1 innings in relief, Piñeiro posted a 1-1 record, with a 4.81 ERA, allowing 19 hits, 13 runs, 3 home runs, 10 walks and 20 strike outs. Opponents hit .213 against him as opposed to .326 as a starter.

Following the season, the Mariners non-tendered Piñeiro for the 2007 season, making him a free agent. The Red Sox signed Piñeiro to a one-year, $4 million contract on January 4, 2007 and gave him the opportunity to compete for the then-vacant closer's job. When Jonathan Papelbon moved back to the bullpen shortly before the regular season started, Piñeiro was used in a setup role, where he disappointed and was eventually relegated to mop-up duty. The righthander had a 1-1 record and a 5.03 ERA in 31 relief appearances with Boston. He walked 14 and struckout 20 and opponents batted a robust .293 against him. He was designated for assignment on July 23 to make room for the triumphant return of Jon Lester. Two days later, Piñeiro accepted an option to the Minor Leagues. He made two starts for Pawtucket before he was traded with cash considerations to the St. Louis Cardinals on July 31 for a minor-league player to be named later.

Three-Year Splits (2004-2006)

Hitter	AB	H	HR	BB	K	HBP	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
LHB	966	260	24	96	164	1	.269	.333	.411	.744
RHB	997	317	43	67	141	19	.318	.368	.520	.888
Totals	1963	577	67	163	305	20	.294	.351	.466	.817

Trivia

• Named Orange County's Athlete of the Year in 1996.
• Retired the first 51 right-handed batters he faced in 2001, the longest such streak since the stat was first kept in 1975.
• Father, Alberto, played pro baseball in Puerto Rico.
• Pitched for Puerto Rico in the 2006 World Baseball Classic.

Transactions

• June 3, 1997: Drafted by the Seattle Mariners in the 12th round of the 1997 amateur draft. Player signed June 7, 1997.
• January 4, 2007: Signed as a Free Agent with the Boston Red Sox.
• July 31, 2007: Traded by the Boston Red Sox with cash considerations to the St. Louis Cardinals for a PTBNL

External Links

• TheBaseballCube.com - Career Statistics and Analysis
• Baseball-Reference.com - Career Statistics and Analysis