Yankees' Michael Pineda: Avoids arbitration

Pineda agreed to a one-year, $7.4 million deal with the Yankees on Friday, avoiding arbitration, FanRag Sports' Jon Heyman reports.

Analysis:

Coming off a year in which he posted a 27.4 percent strikeout rate, which was eighth best among qualified starters, Pineda earned a $3.1 million raise over what he made in 2016. While the strikeouts are nice, his 4.82 ERA and 1.35 WHIP tell a different story. If he can cut down on the hard contact (1.38 HR/9, .339 BABIP), he could be a very valuable fantasy starter, but he is now coming off back-to-back seasons where the production was much worse than the peripherals.