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Cubs Have Shown Interest In Mike Minor

By Anthony Franco | March 2, 2023 at 7:55pm CDT

Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said this afternoon the team was still monitoring the market for left-handed relief. Patrick Mooney of the Athletic adds some specificity to that search, reporting that players like Mike Minor, Will Smith and Brad Hand have all been under consideration. Mooney also adds Zack Britton — whose appeal to the Cubs has previously been reported — as a player the club has checked in on.

Interest in Smith, Hand and Britton is fairly straightforward for a club seeking southpaw help in the later innings. They’re arguably the three top unsigned relievers of either handedness. They’re all former All-Stars with strong career track records and more recent question marks.

Smith had a rocky first half of the season in Atlanta but quietly impressed following a deadline trade to the Astros. Hand allowed fewer than three earned runs per nine innings with the Phillies last season, but that came with strikeout and walk marks that were a few percentage points worse than the respective league averages. Britton has barely pitched over the past season and a half after battling elbow issues that culminated in September 2021 Tommy John surgery.

Smith has only previously been linked to the Tigers this offseason. Evan Petzold of the Free-Press reported Detroit’s interest a couple weeks back but noted that Smith was also drawing attention from clearer-cut contenders. The Cubs are coming off a 74-88 season but were well better than Detroit in 2022 and have had a far more active offseason in an effort for immediate improvement. The only other team that has been publicly tied to Hand are the Twins.

Unlike that trio, Minor hasn’t had any recent work out of the bullpen. He pitched exclusively in relief for the 2017 Royals after two seasons lost to shoulder problems. Since then, the veteran left-hander has pitched essentially entirely as a starter. He has started all but one of 119 appearances in the last five years. Minor had quite a bit of success in that capacity with the Rangers between 2018-19. Things have gone downhill in the trio of seasons since then.

Minor has allowed more than five earned runs per nine innings in each of the past three campaigns. Between 2020-21, he at least stayed mostly healthy and served as a source of back-of-the-rotation innings. That wasn’t the case in 2022, however. Minor was limited to 98 frames over 19 starts during his lone season as a member of the Reds. He posted a 6.06 ERA with a career-worst 16.7% strikeout percentage while allowing an untenable 2.2 home runs per nine.

It’s possible Minor’s struggles are attributable, at least in part, to injury. The 35-year-old began the season on the injured list with a shoulder concern and didn’t make his season debut until early June. He finished the year back on the IL thanks to renewed shoulder issues. The former All-Star hinted at potential retirement last fall but has apparently decided to give things another go. He recently held a showcase for interested teams.

Minor could appeal to teams seeking to stockpile their rotation depth, though the Cubs are presumably eyeing him as a potential relief option. Chicago has Marcus Stroman, Jameson Taillon, Justin Steele and Drew Smyly penciled into their top four rotation spots. Hayden Wesneski, Adrian Sampson and Javier Assad headline the group competing for the final rotation job to open the year. Kyle Hendricks, who’d surely get a starting job once healthy, is reportedly looking towards May for a potential rehab stint after his 2022 campaign was cut short by a capsule tear in his shoulder.

The Cubs have been linked to a number of lefty relief options throughout the offseason. Brandon Hughes is the only southpaw assured of a season-opening bullpen job. There’s room for a second pitcher, though the club has slow-played that area despite an otherwise aggressive offseason that has brought in Taillon, Dansby Swanson, Cody Bellinger, Trey Mancini, Tucker Barnhart and a handful of right-handed ’pen arms.

There might not be much room left in the budget. Roster Resource projects the Cubs’ luxury tax number around $225MM, $8MM shy of this year’s base threshold. Mooney writes the organization presently views that tax marker “as a soft salary cap,” limiting the amount of flexibility for Hoyer and his front office. It seems unlikely any of the remaining relievers would secure an $8MM guarantee at this point in the offseason — Minor, in particular, might be limited to non-roster offers — but most teams prefer to leave a bit of payroll space for in-season acquisitions.

Whether ownership would approve a bump above the luxury tax if the team is competing for a playoff spot in-season remains to be seen. Owner Tom Ricketts spoke vaguely about the tax in January, saying there “will be times I’m sure in the near future where we’ll go over. But we’ll always keep in mind that there’s a balance there you have to always look to manage” (link via Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune). The Cubs last paid the luxury tax in 2020.

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Chicago Cubs Brad Hand Mike Minor Will Smith Zack Britton

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Post a Comment

36 Comments

  1. Cleon Jones

    2 years ago

    A major addition Minor is not.

    4
    Reply
    • CravenMoorehead

      2 years ago

      I read this in Yoda’s voice 🙂

      11
      Reply
      • Cleon Jones

        2 years ago

        Indeed, a message from the Force there is.

        1
        Reply
        • CravenMoorehead

          2 years ago

          Lol yessir

          1
          Reply
    • MLB Top 100 Commenter

      2 years ago

      Minor would be a major mistake.

      Please …… NO ………….

      4
      Reply
  2. This one belongs to the Reds

    2 years ago

    I hope they sign him. Batting practice!

    2
    Reply
    • CravenMoorehead

      2 years ago

      Lolz he gonna give up 2015-2018 Homer Bailey numbers

      3
      Reply
  3. AdmiralPatton

    2 years ago

    How does Smyly have a rotation spot? They should put the young guys like Wesneski in. Smyly should be the long reliever/spot starter.

    1
    Reply
    • Robert-5

      2 years ago

      He will be as soon as one of these guys takes it from him.

      Reply
  4. Jacksson13

    2 years ago

    They have MINOR interest ??

    3
    Reply
  5. kiddhoff

    2 years ago

    Minor? I hardly know her.

    1
    Reply
  6. Unclemike1525

    2 years ago

    I don’t think they need any of those guys. Elias, Kay, Little and Horn are probably decent options. With the 3 man rule, I think it’s more important to find guys who can get both sides of the plate out than Lefty-Righty. I don’t think it’s that important anymore. Besides if you bring your guy in the other team can just PH and your advantage is gone anyway.

    Reply
    • MLB Top 100 Commenter

      2 years ago

      Britton, Smith or Hand might be ok. Minor is a big huge NO.

      1
      Reply
      • Unclemike1525

        2 years ago

        What I don’t get is every year Jed signs a bunch of LH relievers to supposedly find 1 or 2. If they’re still looking for a guy, Then why did they sign all the stew bums they had no intention of using? I mean they found Hughes so they really only needed one. Brendon Little was a 1st round draft choice , Hughes was a 16th round OF for crying out loud. Why didn’t they just sign Boxberger, Fulmer and Chafin in the beginning and be done with it? The only reason I can think of is Chafin didn’t want to come here but every article I’ve read says he loved it here so………….

        Reply
    • Curveball1984

      2 years ago

      Didn’t Elias get lit up the other day?

      Reply
      • PaulyMidwest

        2 years ago

        I musta missed that outing..I saw a nasty outing where he struck out the side though.

        Reply
        • Unclemike1525

          2 years ago

          He’s talking about Wednesday. He came in and was lights out for his first inning. Then the Cubs scored 5 runs and the half inning took forever and when he came back out gave up a couple of dingers but he looks healthy and if he is has major league stuff. WBC against good competition should be revealing.

          1
          Reply
  7. User 1855579867

    2 years ago

    Cubs show interest in Ursa Minor.

    2
    Reply
  8. Old York

    2 years ago

    Another reason why you don’t sign as a pitcher with Cincinnati. Bandbox of a ballpark.

    1
    Reply
  9. Bobcastelliniscat

    2 years ago

    Good luck with that..Mike Minor is just awful.

    1
    Reply
    • Curveball1984

      2 years ago

      Yup

      Reply
  10. Jacksson13

    2 years ago

    With a MINOR on the team,
    That would mean no more beer in the clubhouse.

    3
    Reply
    • MLB Top 100 Commenter

      2 years ago

      The Diamondbacks have Beer so they better keep Minor away.

      Moreover, signing Mike Minor may encourage the team’s fans to drink and not in a favorable way.

      4
      Reply
      • PaulyMidwest

        2 years ago

        My brother said Seth Beer is missing an opportunity not taking the number 30

        Reply
  11. rememberthecoop

    2 years ago

    Cubs like Minor cuz he’s cheap. Their owner won’t pay the luxury tax

    Reply
    • MLB Top 100 Commenter

      2 years ago

      Cheaper not to sign him and use minor league depth.

      3
      Reply
    • pt57

      2 years ago

      I’m puzzled about how payroll is at $230 million. The team is not that good.

      Reply
      • drasco036

        2 years ago

        Because the Cubs shelled out 19.5 million for Bellinger and 10 million for Smyly while still paying Heyward 20 plus million.
        Aside from Swanson, the Cubs didn’t make any impact signings (Bellinger regaining form is a long shot) but spent a ton of money on moderately improving.

        Reply
  12. SweetBabyRayKingsThickThighs

    2 years ago

    Luckily Mike only needs a Minor-league deal

    Reply
    • Curveball1984

      2 years ago

      This. I could see them having to spend for the others. But Minor isn’t worth anything past a Minor League deal. This is Derek Holland 2.0

      1
      Reply
  13. Curveball1984

    2 years ago

    The Cubs need to get a dedicated late inning bullpen lefty. They don’t need Minor. Worst case scenario they could add one of the “young’uns” to the rotation and use Smyly as a swing man. I still think they should’ve signed Rich Hill to do exactly this. The Bucs are gonna find out, just like the Rangers did with Bartolo… Hill will be cooked past 3 innings.

    Reply
  14. pt57

    2 years ago

    At this time, the Cubs absolutely should not go over the tax threshold. They’re not competing for a playoff spot this year.

    Reply
  15. Dumpster Divin Theo

    2 years ago

    A minor team with minor interest in a minor leaguer you say? Compelling. Do tell

    Reply
  16. stymeedone

    2 years ago

    I was really impressed by the term “essentially entirely.” You just don’t get that level of creative writing anywhere. It’s essentially, entirely, exclusive to here!

    Reply
  17. Doug Dascenzo's Mob Boss Dad

    2 years ago

    Great. Another mediocre or washed-up white dude. Just what the Cubs need.

    Reply
  18. Larry Brown's crank

    2 years ago

    he’ll last about 2 minutes there. a minor penalty…if you will

    Reply

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