CC Sabathia
The Mariners traded Pineda to the New York Yankees with José Campos, for Jesús Montero and Héctor Noesí on January 13, 2012. The Yankees needed a top-tier starting pitcher to pair with CC Sabathia, and the Mariners felt they could afford to part with Pineda because of their depth of top-tier pitching prospects, including Danny Hultzen, James Paxton, and Taijuan Walker.