Free-agent lefty Mike Minor implied back in September that he was considering retirement following an injury-shortened 2022 campaign in Cincinnati. However, MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes reports that Minor feels good after spending the offseason throwing in preparation for the 2023 season and is likely to host a throwing session for teams later this month. Minor had told Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer back on Sept. 24, “I’m not closing the door, but it’s barely cracked,” when asked about whether he’d return for a 12th Major League season.
Minor, 35, was traded from the Royals to the Reds not long before the 2022 season but spent the first two months of the year on the injured list due to shoulder troubles. Following his activation in early June, he’d go on to make 19 starts for Cincinnati, but the season was generally a struggle. Minor’s 90.4 mph average fastball was a career-worst mark, and while his 8.8% walk rate was only slightly higher than the league average, it also represented the highest rate of the typically precise lefty’s career. Minor’s 16.7% strikeout rate, too was a career-worst. In his 98 innings with the Reds, Minor scuffled to a 6.06 ERA while allowing an average of 2.2 home runs per nine frames.
It was a far cry from Minor’s peak years, the last of which came in 2019 when he tossed 208 1/3 innings of 3.59 ERA ball with the Rangers. Even as Minor’s bottom-line results suffered in 2020-21 (5.18 ERA), he maintained a sharp 23.2% strikeout rate, 6.7% walk rate and 10.9% swinging-strike rate. The Reds were surely intrigued by those traits when they acquired him, but each trended in the wrong direction during what now looks like it’ll be his lone season in Cincinnati.
Discouraging as the past three seasons have been for Minor, the lefty enjoyed a nice peak from 2011-19 when he pitched to a 3.82 ERA while showing the ability to miss bats and limit walks. Minor has long had a knack for suppressing hard contact, and even through all of last season’s struggles, the 88.2 mph average exit velocity he yielded and the 34.9% hard-hit rate were both lower than the respective league averages of 88.6 mph and 38.2%. Minor’s issue wasn’t so much an excess of hard contact as it was that when he did yield hard contact, it was particularly damaging.
Minor is one of a dwindling number of experienced big league starters left on the market for teams seeking rotation depth. Michael Wacha is perhaps the last remaining free-agent starter who could command a multi-year deal, but Minor joins the likes of Chris Archer, Dylan Bundy, Michael Pineda, Anibal Sanchez and Chase Anderson as seasoned alternatives who could be had on lower-risk arrangements.
Hoping the Braves pick up Pineda on a minor league deal
Think there are other teams out with on paper that would have an avenue to more pitching chances than Atlanta. Atlanta is pretty packed as starters and relievers on paper
Minor league depth is pretty shallow rn
Thankfully, I think the Dbacks have been cured from taking a gamble on “at retirement” type pitchers like Minor, by their experience last year with Dallas Keuchel whose 9.64 ERA in 4 starts was disastrous.
As a White Sox fan, saw Keuchel the last few years. He was just horrible.
Stay away from Minor. He will sign a contract, within a month be on DL for season.
Time to hang ’em up Mike. Chase Anderson too.
He should play as long as someone is willing to pay him. Get the playing bug out of system and get as much money as he can.
Anibal Sanchez is still pitching. He and Wacha were the only pitchers in that group to have positive WAR last year. Who would you roll the dice with?
If he is looking a Starting Job then forget about it unless the Pirates take a chance!
Mop Up Pen Arm maybe !
Pirates would have zero interest. Who would they move out of the rotation for him? Keller, Contreras, and Hill have guarenteed rotation spots. Brubaker, Oviedo, and Velasquez are better than Minor. They have Luis Ortiz and Mike Burrows on the 40-man roster, with others like Quinn Priester, Kyle Nicolas, Carmen Mldozinski, and Cody Bolton at Triple-A to start the year.
Whatever deal he gets will be Minor.
Could be a fit for the Dodgers as a swingman.
” I’m not closing the door but it’s barely cracked. “..unless I can steal millions from Reds/Royals again or perhaps Pirates or some basement dweller. Go away, dude…its over! You will prob get a hang nail and miss the entire season!….A&# HAT
Tim, don’t get too big for us now that you are the one breaking the news 😉
If he throws like last year, he won’t see anything.
He did hold batters to a .232/.304/361 line through the first time through the order. But opponents had an OPS over 1.000 when they faced him a second and third time.
The Astros could use Mike Minor they need a LHP Starter in their starting rotation for a one R two year contract
Maybe he would be successful in the bullpen again? He was good there a few years back.
Thank goodness he only had one year on his contract. What a complete waste of time he was for the Reds.
“Minor’s 16.7% strikeout rate, too was a career-worst.”
Come on now, this isn’t proper English.
“Minor’s 16.7% strikeout rate was a career-worst too.”
or
“Minor’s 16.7% strikeout rate also was a career-worst.”
I know MLBTR writers don’t know how to use the word “too” but how do you screw it up THIS badly?
Mike minor has come a long way since playing Steve Elliott on petticoat junction