Headlines

  • Jung Ho Kang Receives Visa, Set To Rejoin Pirates
  • Braves Promote Ronald Acuna
  • Yankees Promote Gleyber Torres
  • Mets To Move Matt Harvey To Bullpen
  • Reds Fire Bryan Price, Mack Jenkins
  • Taijuan Walker To Undergo Tommy John Surgery
  • Previous
  • Next
Login
  • Hoops Rumors
  • Pro Football Rumors
  • Pro Hockey Rumors

MLB Trade Rumors

  • Home
  • Teams
    • AL East
      • Baltimore Orioles
      • Boston Red Sox
      • New York Yankees
      • Tampa Bay Rays
      • Toronto Blue Jays
    • AL Central
      • Chicago White Sox
      • Cleveland Indians
      • Detroit Tigers
      • Kansas City Royals
      • Minnesota Twins
    • AL West
      • Houston Astros
      • Los Angeles Angels
      • Oakland Athletics
      • Seattle Mariners
      • Texas Rangers
    • NL East
      • Atlanta Braves
      • Miami Marlins
      • New York Mets
      • Philadelphia Phillies
      • Washington Nationals
    • NL Central
      • Chicago Cubs
      • Cincinnati Reds
      • Milwaukee Brewers
      • Pittsburgh Pirates
      • St. Louis Cardinals
    • NL West
      • Arizona Diamondbacks
      • Colorado Rockies
      • Los Angeles Dodgers
      • San Diego Padres
      • San Francisco Giants
  • About
    • MLB Trade Rumors
    • Tim Dierkes
    • Writing team
    • Advertise
    • Archives
  • Contact
  • Tools
    • 2018 Arbitration Tracker
    • Projected Arbitration Salaries For 2018
    • 2017-18 MLB Free Agent Tracker
    • 2017-18 MLB Free Agent List
    • Top 50 MLB Free Agents With Predictions
    • MLB Depth Charts
    • Transaction Tracker
    • DFA Tracker
    • Extension Tracker
    • Agency Database
    • Last 100 Comments
  • NBA/NFL/NHL
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors
  • App
  • Chats
Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Mike Minor To Decline Mutual Option

By Steve Adams | November 3, 2017 at 10:07am CDT

Left-hander Mike Minor has declined his half of a $10MM mutual option and is now a free agent, MLB.com’s Jeffrey Flanagan reports (via Twitter). He’ll receive a buyout of $1.25MM as part of the two-year, $7.25MM contract he inked with Kansas City prior to the 2016 campaign. The Royals have interest in re-signing Minor as their closer moving forward, he adds, but he’ll first have the opportunity to gauge interest from other clubs now that he’s hitting the open market.

Mike Minor | Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports

Minor, 30 in December, missed the 2015 season due to shoulder surgery but landed a two-year pact in Kansas City, as they expected that he’d be ready to return to the mound as a rotation option in the first half of the 2016 campaign. However, lingering effects of that shoulder procedure kept Minor from taking the mound in the Majors at all in 2016.

Though he didn’t make good on the first year of that two-year pact, Minor nonetheless proved to be an immense bargain. Healthy in 2017, Minor shifted to the bullpen and climbed the ranks in the Royals’ relief corps, beginning with low-leverage innings but eventually serving as the team’s closer late in the year.

Minor was a genuine weapon working as a reliever. In 77 2/3 innings he averaged 10.2 K/9 against 2.6 BB/9 with a 42.4 percent ground-ball rate en route to a 2.55 ERA. Minor allowed just five homers all season and was utterly dominant against left-handed opponents (.161/.228/.196) while also rendering right-handed bats largely useless (.221/.281/.383). That performance made the decision to walk away from a potential $10MM salary in 2018 (a net of $8.75MM for Minor when factoring in the buyout) an easy one, as Minor should have no problem handily topping that mark in free agency.

While some clubs will undoubtedly have some trepidation about the fact that Minor missed a pair of seasons following a shoulder operation, he showed no ill effects in 2017 and should be poised to command a strong multi-year deal. Bullpen help is in demand for all 30 teams each offseason, and left-handed relievers that can dominate both left- and right-handed hitters alike are rare commodities. That Minor exhibited an ability to work multiple innings throughout the year is a strong point in his favor as teams gravitate further away from rigid, one-inning relief roles.

Minor figures to draw interest both as a closer and as a setup option for teams that already have strict closers in place. He could also find some interest from clubs that are intrigued by plugging him back into the rotation, but he’d almost certainly be leaving money on the table right now by rolling the dice on a return a starting role. Whatever contract he signs may contain some incentives based on starts and total innings if that’s a route he’s interested in pursuing, but more than half the teams in the league will probably be interested in adding Minor to their bullpen. That’s the best route for him to maximize his earning power, which figures to be substantial. We ranked Minor 18th on yesterday’s Top 50 Free Agent list and pegged him for a four-year deal just south of Brett Cecil’s $30.5MM pact in St. Louis.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Share 0 Retweet 9 Send via email0

Kansas City Royals Mike Minor Newsstand Transactions

Offseason Outlook: Toronto Blue Jays
Main
Top 50 Free Agents Chat Transcript
20 comments
newest oldest

Comments

  1. sidewinder11

    6 months ago

    He would make a lot of sense in Arizona. A back-end of Bradley and Minor would be fun to watch

    0
    0
    Reply
  2. JDGoat

    6 months ago

    Is he the top lefty on the market?

    0
    1
    Reply
    • Steve AdamsSteve Adams

      6 months ago

      Without question, in my eyes. McGee is a distant second. There are durability concerns with Minor, of course, coming off two missed seasons. But he was elite in 2017, and it’s not as if McGee doesn’t come with his own checkered injury history.

      2
      0
      Reply
  3. bigjonliljon

    6 months ago

    Hey Mike… that noise you here is Theo calling. Your going to look real good in cubbie blue

    1
    1
    Reply
  4. deek158

    6 months ago

    Minor is worth the bucks IMO
    As a Jays fan I was relieved to see Cecil exit, bet the Cards regret that deal !

    0
    0
    Reply
    • STLShadows

      6 months ago

      Yeah the only useful thing Cecil is useful for is being a lefty other than that he’s trash. Want him back Toronto we will give you him for free?

      0
      0
      Reply
      • deek158

        6 months ago

        Noooooooo. Had enough of that trash !!

        0
        0
        Reply
    • dazhk

      6 months ago

      You can have Cecil, used game bat from Molina, and a bucket of baseballs. Would that do it???

      0
      0
      Reply
      • deek158

        6 months ago

        There is no possible deal to make…he is all yours !

        0
        0
        Reply
      • deek158

        6 months ago

        How about cause we’re nice in T.O….we will give you fruit Loup if you keep Cecil ?

        0
        0
        Reply
  5. chrisones

    6 months ago

    This always gets me. A guy gets paid millions to rehab and never throw a pitch for one year, then walks for more money coming elsewhere.

    3
    0
    Reply
    • dwhitt3

      6 months ago

      Not like he chose to be injured.

      0
      0
      Reply
    • Kris Higdon

      6 months ago

      The mutual option is a mechanism clubs and specifically the Royals use to guarantee more money to a player while delaying that payment. There was never any delusion on the part of the Royals that he would accept that option.

      0
      0
      Reply
  6. Tavares

    6 months ago

    Can anyone explain to me why he’ll receive the buyout?
    It was the player who decline the option, not the club, so why does he should receive anything?
    Doesn’t sound odd?
    It’s like “I quit (my job) but I want my indemnity”

    1
    0
    Reply
    • Steve AdamsSteve Adams

      6 months ago

      The Royals basically use mutual options as a means of deferring salary. Minor was guaranteed $7.25MM, which came in the form of a $2MM salary in 2016, $4MM in 2017 and a $1.25MM buyout of the 2018 option (whether it was exercised or not).

      The two sides agreed his 2016-17 seasons were worth $7.25MM — the buyout is just a more creative way of spreading out the commitment. For all intents and purposes, his 2017 salary was basically $5.25MM, because there’s only about one mutual option that is exercised by both parties every three to four years.

      In short: It’s an accounting measure.

      3
      0
      Reply
  7. haymaker9

    6 months ago

    Correct me if I’m wrong, but if the PLAYER opts out, he isn’t granted the buyout is he? I thought that was only paid if the TEAM declines the option.

    0
    0
    Reply
    • dwhitt3

      6 months ago

      Unless his contract says he still gets it

      0
      0
      Reply
    • Kris Higdon

      6 months ago

      If the Royals picked up their side of the option and he declined his side, then he wouldn’t get the buyout. The Royals will decline theirs before he declines his to kick in the buyout.

      0
      0
      Reply
  8. connfyoozed

    6 months ago

    I guess that the big question for teams is whether or not they think Mike’s past surgeries are a Minor concern.

    2
    0
    Reply
  9. bravosfan4life

    6 months ago

    Come back to atlanta

    0
    0
    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Please login to leave a reply.
Log in Register

ad: 300x250_1_MLB

    Top Stories

    Jung Ho Kang Receives Visa, Set To Rejoin Pirates

    Braves Promote Ronald Acuna

    Yankees Promote Gleyber Torres

    Mets To Move Matt Harvey To Bullpen

    Reds Fire Bryan Price, Mack Jenkins

    Taijuan Walker To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

    Braves Sign Jose Bautista

    Taijuan Walker Diagnosed With “UCL Injury”

    2018-19 MLB Free Agent Power Rankings

    Kevin Kiermaier To Undergo Thumb Surgery

    Recent

    Athletics Option Kendall Graveman

    Minor MLB Transactions: 4/26/18

    Follow The NFL Draft At ProFootballRumors.com

    Tim Beckham Out At Least Six Weeks Following Core Muscle Surgery

    Jung Ho Kang Receives Visa, Set To Rejoin Pirates

    MLBTR Chat Transcript: Albies/Acuña, Early Deadline Thoughts, O’s, More

    White Sox Outright Casey Gillaspie

    Indians Place Andrew Miller On 10-Day DL, Purchase Contract Of Jeff Beliveau

    Twins Claim David Hale

    AL East Notes: Corbin, Gleyber, Machado, Donaldson, Tulo, Eovaldi

    Trade Rumors App for iOS and Android

    MLBTR Features

    MLBTR Features

    • Top 50 MLB Free Agents With Predictions
    • 2017-18 MLB Free Agent Tracker
    • 2017-18 MLB Free Agent List
    • Projected Arbitration Salaries For 2018
    • MLB Depth Charts
    • 2018-19 MLB Free Agent List
    • Transaction Tracker
    • DFA Tracker
    • Extension Tracker
    • Agency Database
    • MLBTR On Twitter
    • MLBTR On Facebook
    • Team Twitter/RSS Feeds
    • Team Facebook Pages
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
    • Pro Hockey Rumors
    • Roster Resource

    Rumors By Team

    • Angels Rumors
    • Astros Rumors
    • Athletics Rumors
    • Blue Jays Rumors
    • Braves Rumors
    • Brewers Rumors
    • Cardinals Rumors
    • Cubs Rumors
    • Diamondbacks Rumors
    • Dodgers Rumors
    • Giants Rumors
    • Indians Rumors
    • Mariners Rumors
    • Marlins Rumors
    • Mets Rumors
    • Nationals Rumors
    • Orioles Rumors
    • Padres Rumors
    • Phillies Rumors
    • Pirates Rumors
    • Rangers Rumors
    • Rays Rumors
    • Red Sox Rumors
    • Reds Rumors
    • Rockies Rumors
    • Royals Rumors
    • Tigers Rumors
    • Twins Rumors
    • White Sox Rumors
    • Yankees Rumors

    ad: 160x600_MLB

    Navigation

    • Sitemap
    • Archives
    • Feeds by Team

    MLBTR INFO

    • Advertise
    • About
    • Commenting Policy
    • Privacy Policy

    Connect

    • Contact Us
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS Feed

    MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

    hide arrowsFOX Sports Engage Network scroll to top
    Close

    Desktop Version | Switch To Mobile Version