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Mike Minor

Twins, Rangers Have Discussed Mike Minor Trade

By Dylan A. Chase | July 27, 2019 at 8:58pm CDT

Mike Minor, one of the more heavily discussed trade targets of 2019, has apparently been the subject of conversations held between the Rangers and Twins, according to a tweet from Jon Morosi of MLB Network (Twitter link). Morosi adds that the “extent of progress in talks is unclear.”

We may not be aware of the degree of Minnesota’s interest in Minor, but we certainly know that Twins chief baseball officer Derek Falvey and GM Thad Levine are keeping busy in advance of next week’s deadline. Just this evening, their club acquired Sergio Romo (the pioneer of the “opener” movement, it could be argued), and now we might presume they’re interested in additional staff reinforcements.

Minnesota has received a 3.88 collective ERA from its starters this year, with five of its rotation members–Jose Berrios, Jake Odorizzi, Kyle Gibson, Michael Pineda, and Martin Perez–having already posted WAR values north of 1.7 on the year. They may not make for the most obvious Minor landing spot, but the time-worn adage of “never having enough pitching” may be looming large in the mind of Falvey and Levine. Plus, the executives are surely mindful Berrios is their only lock to return in 2020. Odorizzi, Gibson and Pineda are soon-to-be free agents, and Perez has a $7.5MM club option (or a $500K buyout). Minor’s due to make $9.5MM next season to close out his contract.

While Falvey and Levine may be interested in welcoming Minor to the Twin Cities, it is uncertain if the player would share their enthusiasm. Minor has a 10-team no-trade list, but it’s unknown if the Twins are on it. Moreover, as a key part of a Rangers team that has defied expectations en route to an above-.500 record, Minor did not take kindly when pressed recently about trade rumors connected to his name. He said simply that, for players, such rumors, “make us mad”. Minor has made clear he does not want to be moved by Texas, but it remains to be seen if the team will comply with those wishes.

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Minnesota Twins Texas Rangers Mike Minor

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Braves Targeting Pitching From Royals, Rangers

By TC Zencka | July 27, 2019 at 9:46am CDT

The Braves have a relatively strong hold on the National League East as they have pushed their lead back up to 5 1/2 games over the Nationals and 6 1/2 games over the Phillies. Much like their trailers in the East, the Braves are exploring reinforcements for a bullpen that has let the club down at times.

Much like other contenders, the Braves have looked into acquiring lefty Jake Diekman from the Royals, per MLB.com’s Mark Bowman (via Twitter). Diekman remains one of the most likely players to move before Wednesday’s deadline, but the Royals are apparently in no rush to make a decision. Bowman names Ian Kennedy as another name that makes sense for the Braves, though the Royals are less interested in paying down the money owed Kennedy, making him a less likely target.

Though the same targets seem to make their way around the rumor mill from team-to-team, the Braves have not yet been tied to oft-rumored Tigers Shane Greene, Nicholas Castellanos or Matthew Boyd. A more likely trading partner for Atlanta is the Rangers, who can offer Mike Minor for the rotation or right-hander Jose Leclerc out of the pen.

Both Rangers come with future years of control, with Leclerc in particular being an interesting target as the 25-year-old recently signed an extension that has him under contract for five years after this season (through 2024). After recording 12 saves with a 1.56 ERA 59 games last season, Leclerc struggled out of the gate this year, ultimately losing his closer’s role and even taking a few turns as an Opener. That said, he turned things around since the slow start, currently holding a 4.02 ERA (3.31 FIP) in 47 games, making him worth 1.0 WAR by measure of both Baseball-Reference and Fangraphs.

It would be at least understandable if the Rangers were looking for a mulligan on the Leclerc extension, but that’s not to say they’re looking to sell low on their power righty. The Braves plethora of pitching in the upper levels of the minors give them the bullets they need to acquire whomever they need, should they decide to pull the trigger.

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Atlanta Braves Ian Kennedy Jake Diekman Jose Leclerc Mike Minor Shane Greene

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Jon Daniels On Availability Of Mike Minor, Lance Lynn

By Jeff Todd | July 25, 2019 at 6:38am CDT

We’re clearly past wondering whether the Rangers will enter the deadline in position to pursue a 2019 postseason spot, with the club collapsing out of range of plausible contention. But that doesn’t mean it’s obvious how the organization will handle trade talks in the coming days.

Rangers president of baseball operations Jon Daniels will have to decide whether to pursue trades involving several players who could be of future use in Texas. Outfielder Nomar Mazara has popped up on the rumor mill, as has reliever Jose Leclerc. It’s interesting to wonder about those talented younger players, neither of whom has performed to expectations this year, but they aren’t the club’s most intriguing deadline candidates. That status belongs instead to veteran starters Mike Minor and Lance Lynn.

Appearing on 105.3 The Fan’s Ben and Skin Show (transcript via the Dallas Morning News), Daniels discussed a variety of topics of hot-stove interest. But his comments on Minor and Lynn are most noteworthy given the still-uncertain status of this summer’s starting pitching market.

Daniels made clear that the Texas club values these pitchers “at a very high level.” He provided support for that position by observing: “You’ve got guys that are performing at a high level, that are filling a need that we need now and we’re going to need going forward. We need more pitching, not less ultimately.”

There’s plenty of truth in that statement, even if the Rangers have to listen to offers. (Daniels has already said they will.) This is a club that’s opening a new ballpark next year — “ultimately people come to see the team on the field,” Daniels noted while discussing the impact of the stadium — and has elected not to launch a full-throated rebuild. While the 2019 Opening Day payroll sat lower than at any point since 2011, it still checked in at levels that would cause some small-market clubs heart palpitations ($118MM).

The Texas club is obviously interested in putting a good product on the field year after year. And there’s no doubting the roster’s dire need for starting pitching. Parting with good starting pitching (with future contract control) would open a hole that’ll need to be filled somehow.

True, the Rangers can go out looking for the next versions of Minor and Lynn. They’ll probably do so regardless. But it’s awfully tough to assume that they’ll have near as much success with their next buy-low, three-year contract as they have with their prior two. Minor ($28MM) and Lynn ($30MM) inked near-identical deals in successive winters, with the Rangers luring both with longer deals than many anticipated while promising limited average annual salaries. They’ve each been among the game’s most productive starters this year.

It’s certainly plenty appealing to hang onto these hurlers and continue to hope they provide good value over the remaining years on their contracts. (With one season remaining for Minor and two for Lynn, speculation has mostly focused on the former, though that doesn’t necessarily reflect the preferences of interested teams.) On the other hand, both are over thirty years of age with somewhat worrying injury histories. And market circumstances could align to create rather significant interest, particularly if other quality starters end up carrying audacious price tags.

Given the competing considerations, Daniels says, the Rangers won’t be moving off of their own lofty valuations on these hurlers. If the club ends up dealing one or both, he suggests, we’ll know why as soon as the swap is reported: “If we ultimately get to a place where we’re going to consider moving any of our big-league pitchers, it’s going to be because it clearly makes sense to do so. I think the return will speak for itself.”

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Texas Rangers Lance Lynn Mike Minor

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Yankees Have Interest In Mike Minor

By Jeff Todd | July 24, 2019 at 9:55pm CDT

WEDNESDAY: New York’s “not very involved” in the Minor derby, Jon Heyman of MLB Network tweets.

MONDAY: As they continue to weigh a variety of possible pitching additions, the Yankees are taking a look at Rangers lefty Mike Minor, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (subscription link). But that interest comes with a few complications.

The Yanks are one of ten teams to which Minor can block a swap pursuant to his contract, per Rosenthal. Minor’s willingness to waive his rights isn’t known, but he certainly doesn’t sound particularly anxious to leave town.

Minor’s continued strong work makes his contract rights quite appealing. He’s earning just $9.5MM this year and next, making the 31-year-old a cost-efficient target. Pinching pennies isn’t strictly necessary for the Yankees, but the organization is as aware of value concepts as any and has an obvious desire to avoid unnecessary luxury tax complications (now and in the future).

It’s not surprising, then, that the Bronx Bombers have sent notable front-office member Tim Naehring out to see Minor’s past two outings. That could be interpreted as a tell, though Rosenthal rightly points out that Naehring and the team’s other trusted evaluators have also put in plenty of time watching other arms as well.

It is still tough to guess just what direction the Yankees will take. If Luis Severino is able to make it back, even if not in a full-blown starter’s capacity, the club will have enviable depth with James Paxton and Domingo German featuring as capable postseason starters and a variety of other multi-inning hurlers on hand. It could certainly stand to add a marquee arm to front the staff, but it’s fair to wonder if that’s really what Minor is. There’s unquestionably a rotation need in 2020 as well, but perhaps that shouldn’t be the priority right now. The price for Minor will be steep — in addition to other demand, the Rangers will value his rights for next season — and there is an argument to be made that the Yanks ought instead to utilize their resources on other targets, either posting less in prospect value for a rental hurler or somehow concocting a bigger move for a truly top-shelf starter.

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Trade Candidate Faceoff: Bauer Vs. Stroman Vs. Minor

By Connor Byrne | July 20, 2019 at 2:01am CDT

Indians right-hander Trevor Bauer, Blue Jays righty Marcus Stroman and Rangers lefty Mike Minor have been among the most popular names in the rumor mill in advance of the July 31 trade deadline. All three are quality starters who are under control through 2020, so a slew of contenders have predictably shown serious interest in each of them. But who’s the most desirable of the trio?

Perhaps it’s the 28-year-old Bauer, who started his major league career in 2012 with the Diamondbacks. The third pick in the 2011 draft, Bauer was something of a can’t-miss prospect coming up. It took him longer than expected to find his footing in the majors, though, and it didn’t happen in Arizona. It occurred in Cleveland, which acquired Bauer in a three-team trade prior to the 2013 season. Bauer was a useful starter with the Indians from his first full season in 2014 through 2017, but he truly put it all together last year. Across 175 1/3 innings, Bauer notched a 2.21 ERA/2.44 FIP with 11.34 K/9 and 2.93 BB/9 en route to a sixth-place finish in the AL Cy Young voting.

Bauer probably won’t wind up in Cy Young contention this season, though he has turned in another above-average performance. No major league starter has amassed more innings than Bauer, who has delivered 144 2/3 frames of 3.67 ERA/4.29 FIP pitching with 10.58 K/9 against 3.48 BB/9. But home runs have been a major problem for Bauer compared to last year, when he yielded them on just 6.2 percent of fly balls. The rate has shot to 15.2 this season, while Bauer’s groundball percentage has shrunk from 44.5 to 38.5. He is, however, averaging a personal-best 94.8 mph on his four-seam fastball.

Stroman, also 28, has never encountered trouble racking up grounders in the majors. Since debuting in 2014, Stroman has posted a tremendous 59.7 percent grounder rate, including 57.9 this year. The ability to induce worm burners has long made Stroman effective at preventing runs, even though he’s hardly a strikeout-heavy pitcher. Stroman has fanned just over seven per nine in his career and this season, and has also logged a sub-3.00 BB/9 during those spans. The package of skills has helped Stroman to a praiseworthy 3.06 ERA/3.60 FIP in 117 2/3 innings this season.

Minor, 31, fared nicely as a Braves starter from 2010-14, but injuries knocked his career off course thereafter and kept him out of action from 2015-16. When he returned the next season with the Royals, Minor was a reliever – and an excellent one at that. But after signing a three-year, $28MM contract with the Rangers going into 2018, he returned to a starting role. The results were closer to average than exceptional then, though Minor has made notable strides since. His ERA’s an outstanding 2.86, albeit with a less inspiring 4.08 FIP, in 129 innings. Minor fanned 10 Astros and walked one in seven innings of a losing effort Friday, improving his K/9 to 9.14 and his BB/9 to 3.14. Although Minor hurt his cause by allowing four home runs, he has generally kept the long ball at bay this season.

It’s clear Bauer, Stroman and Minor are all appealing starters, but one can’t simply compare their performances when talking about them as trade candidates. Their salaries also play a key part in the discussion. Bauer’s easily the most expensive of the group this year ($13MM) and could end up in the $18MM to $20MM range during his final trip to arbitration over the winter. Minor comes in next at $9.5MM, but another $9.5MM salary is already etched in stone for 2020. Stroman’s making $7.4MM this season, though he’ll certainly join Bauer in getting a raise in his last year of arbitration.

Weighing all the factors – performance, age, price and what you think each would cost in a trade – which of these hurlers would you most want to acquire in the next week and a half?

(Poll link for app users)

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Cleveland Guardians MLBTR Originals MLBTR Polls Texas Rangers Toronto Blue Jays Marcus Stroman Mike Minor Trevor Bauer

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Phillies Continue To Have Interest In Mike Minor

By Mark Polishuk | July 18, 2019 at 4:35pm CDT

The Phillies were one of several teams linked to Rangers left-hander Mike Minor during offseason trade talks, and with the deadline approaching, “the Phillies continue to maintain interest in” Minor’s services, NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Corey Seidman writes.

Needless to say, Minor has only elevated his stock in the eyes of any interested parties in the wake of his strong 2019 season.  Minor ranked 31st on MLBTR’s recent list of the top 60 trade deadline candidates, though the southpaw would rocket up the standings if the Rangers were to give a clearer indication that they were shopping Minor rather than retaining him for their own (perhaps fading) postseason push.

A four-game losing streak has dropped Texas to 9.5 games behind the Astros in the AL West and five games out of a wild card berth.  The Rangers are still a solid 50-46 overall and they begin a three-game series against Houston on Friday.  Plus, the Rangers also play the last-place Mariners four times before the July 31st trade deadline, so there’s even more of an opportunity to make up ground.

Rangers GM Jon Daniels has reportedly remained open to the idea of dealing Minor even with Texas on the outskirts of the race, since Minor represents such a major trade chip for a team that, realistically, is still closer to a roster reload (if not an outright rebuild) than they are to being legitimate contenders.  Minor is under contract through the 2020 season and owed roughly $13.46MM between now and the end of his deal — between that extra year of control, the very reasonable salary, and Minor’s impressive performance, he should net a substantial haul in a trade.

With this in mind, the Phils would have to further deplete a minor league system that was already thinned out by some big offseason trades.  Speculatively, Seidman writes that the Phillies might have to give up something like right-hander Spencer Howard, a young outfield piece (like Adam Haseley or former first overall pick Mickey Moniak), and probably a third prospect as well (if one of a lesser caliber) for Minor.  Philadelphia has already received trade interest in Howard, its second-round pick from the 2017 draft who has thus far posted big strikeout numbers in his young career, though Seidman notes that the Phillies “have been uninterested in moving” Howard in response to these prior offers.

The Phillies are known to be looking at adding both starting and relief pitching at the deadline, with such names as Robbie Ray and Mychal Givens connected to the team in recent reports.  Like Minor, these pitchers are all controlled beyond the 2019 season, which makes sense given the recent insinuation from team president Andy MacPhail that the Phillies weren’t likely to give up their top prospects for rental players.

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Philadelphia Phillies Texas Rangers Mike Minor Spencer Howard

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Latest On Mike Minor

By Jeff Todd | July 17, 2019 at 7:40pm CDT

The availability of Rangers lefty Mike Minor remains a key topic in the development of the 2019 summer trade market. The 31-year-old southpaw is among several quality veteran hurlers who could — but may not necessarily — end up on the move in the next two weeks.

Texas GM Jon Daniels has suggested that the club’s approach won’t be swayed too much by the standings, but it’s hard to ignore that as a factor. Entering play today, the Rangers sat 8.5 games back of the Astros, in third place in the AL West, and four games out of Wild Card position with four clubs in better position to claim the two play-in game slots.

Under the circumstances, MLB.com’s Jon Morosi seems to be stating the obvious when he writes that the Texas front office is “increasingly open-minded” about spinning Minor off in a trade. Indeed, that’s very nearly exactly how Daniels himself has publicly characterized the matter, indicating that says he’s hesitant but can’t rule out a trade involving Minor.

That’s not pleasing news for the veteran southpaw himself, as MLB.com’s TR Sullivan reports. Minor says that rumors of a sell-off “make us mad.” It sounds as if he’d rather stay and fight down the stretch. “I don’t want to go anywhere,” said Minor. “My name was talked about in the offseason, so I’m used to it. It seems like ever since I signed, I’ve been a topic. It’s like I signed here just to be traded.”

While that is something of an exaggeration, it’s not entirely untrue. Minor was a widely pursued pitcher when the Rangers nabbed him by promising him a chance to start and making a three-year commitment. The contract has worked out better than even the most optimistic predictions. With the Texas club still in a transition phase, it has fielded persistent interest in Minor — whose appeal is enhanced by his quality results this year (2.73 ERA in 122 innings) and affordable 2020 contract rights ($9.5MM).

Given their recent slide, the question is probably a fairly straightforward one for the Rangers, who value Minor for the same essential reasons that most other clubs do. They’ll simply wait to see if they’re offered enough young talent to give up the chance to keep a very good hurler at a nice price for the opening year of their new ballpark. If not, they can comfortably hang onto him.

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Texas Rangers Mike Minor

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Rangers Not Ruling Out Mike Minor Trade

By Jeff Todd | July 12, 2019 at 5:34pm CDT

Rangers president of baseball operations Jon Daniels indicated today that he is not willing to rule out a trade of top starter Mike Minor, as TR Sullivan of MLB.com was among those to cover on Twitter.

While Daniels also made clear he isn’t particularly inclined to move the organization’s best pitcher, it’s notable that he’s adopting such an open stance on the subject at this point of the season. With just over two weeks to go until the trade deadline, the Rangers are still sitting just 2.5 games out of Wild Card position. Though the eight-game gap in the division likely can’t be bridged, it’s not inconceivable that the Texas club will be in shouting distance by the end of the month.

All things considered, it’s a practical and realistic position to take for the Rangers’ top baseball decisionmaker. When he addressed the club’s deadline stance a month ago, Daniels said he intended to “stay true to our mind-set of trying to balance, continue to place a priority on the next few years.” He wouldn’t be swayed much by the standings, he further indicated, explaining: “overall we know which direction we’re going in.”

For an organization that hopes to reload with young talent while remaining competitive in the near-term, this has been a bit of a dream season. Not only has the club hit on several (but not all) free-agent investments, and seen strides from some (again, not all) key young players, it has put itself in position for a legitimate run at a playoff spot.

As for Minor … he fits somewhere in the middle on all fronts. Signed to a three-year deal before the 2018 season, he has outperformed all expectations. The $9.5MM salary he’s due this year and next seems to be a bargain now that Minor is through 117 innings of 2.54 ERA ball on the season. While the Rangers would like to continue enjoying Minor’s presence atop a rotation that still has quite a few questions, the chance of cashing in obviously tantalizes as well.

There’s one other possibility, of course: an extension. But Minor is 31 years of age and has a worrying history of arm maladies. Whether or not he’d be amenable to sorting out a new deal isn’t clear, but the Rangers would no doubt need to tread carefully for a contract to present a clear value proposition. At this point, it seems hard to view the possibility of an extension as a significant factor.

Ultimately, Daniels indicates more that he’s open to listening to offers than preparing to shop the veteran lefty. There’s a notable difference there, at least in theory. But the key question will arise at the point of decision. Will the Texas organization stand on a hefty asking price or will it ultimately take the best reasonable offer it’s able to procure?

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Texas Rangers Mike Minor

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Rangers Notes: Minor, Leclerc, DeShields

By Steve Adams | June 6, 2019 at 4:35pm CDT

Entering the season, it looked like a foregone conclusion that the Rangers would make Mike Minor available on the summer trade market, but their 31-28 record and current presence in the thick of the AL Wild Card picture has muddied things, writes Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. At the very least, despite the fact that Minor is 31 years old and signed through 2020, the Rangers will have to at least explore the possibility of extending him, Grant surmises. At present, the team is in a strong position regardless; it’s easy to point to their record and proximity to a Wild Card spot in telling other clubs that they’d need to be blown away to consider a move. And if they’re able to sustain this play through late July, of course, then Minor will become a vital piece to a more legitimate push toward an unexpected playoff berth.

Minor, through 81 1/3 innings this year, has a 2.55 ERA with 9.6 K/9, 2.9 BB/9 and 0.89 HR/9. As Grant notes, his dominance actually extends back into 2018, when he closed out the year with a terrific 17-start stretch. About two thirds of respondents in last week’s MLBTR poll on Minor’s future felt the organization should trade him; they’ve gone 4-2 in the six games since.

Here’s more out of Arlington…

  • Minor himself addressed the situation when talking with Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, acknowledging that he keeps up with trade rumors throughout the year. Minor feels that it’d be a mistake to make such a move with the Rangers playing well and voiced confidence that the team can continue to keep pace in its push for a postseason bid. “I know something could happen, but my honest opinion is if they do trade me, they’re going to go out there and buy a bunch of free agents this off-season,” said Minor. “Unless they’re getting young, controllable guys back.”
  • Jose Leclerc is “getting close” to reclaiming the ninth-inning role, manager Chris Woodward said again this week (link via Wilson). Leclerc had an absolutely awful start to the season due to shaky control, but over the past month he’s notched a 1.76 ERA with a ridiculous 28-to-6 K/BB ratio in 15 1/3 innings of work (16.4 K/9). “I just love the kid so much,” said Woodward of Leclerc. “He wants to win so bad. He’s willing to do whatever we ask. He’s been pitching lights out. Just the command with his fastball and getting the weird swings with his changeup. Yeah, it’s getting close.”
  • Delino DeShields connected with a walk-off single to cap a four-hit showing last night, and Wilson’s piece also looks at his chances of sticking on the roster. Woodward feels that DeShields’ swing “looks so much better and more efficient” after a brief reset in the minors. DeShields is getting another look at the moment due to injuries sustained by Joey Gallo and Willie Calhoun, but Texas will eventually have that trio, the resurgent Hunter Pence, Shin-Soo Choo and Nomar Mazara all in the mix for outfield and DH at-bats, creating a bit of a logjam. DeShields still needs to demonstrate that he can have some prolonged success, of course, but he’s off to a nice start in trying to force his way back into the mix. Notably, Wilson adds that Calhoun could begin a minor league rehab assignment next week.
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Notes Texas Rangers Delino DeShields Jose Leclerc Mike Minor Willie Calhoun

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Poll: Mike Minor’s Future In Texas

By Steve Adams | May 30, 2019 at 9:34am CDT

The Rangers’ surprising flirtation with the .500 mark and the American League Wild Card race — they’re currently 27-26 on the season and a half game from the second Wild Card spot — make them one of the more surprising teams of the year. Texas tried to patch together an entire rotation behind holdover Mike Minor this past offseason, trading for Drew Smyly, adding Edinson Volquez to the big league roster (he’d been on a two-year minor league deal) and signing the duo of Lance Lynn and Shelby Miller. With the Astros owning the division for the past several seasons and the A’s coming off a 97-win campaign of their own, there wasn’t much hope that Texas would contend for much of anything.

Mike Minor | Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

That may ultimately prove to be the case in the end, but at the moment the team is in better standing than most would’ve expected at the (nearly) one-third mark of the season. At the very least, it’s created some interesting questions moving forward — with Minor’s own future in the organization perhaps chief among them. The Athletic’s Jayson Stark tweeted yesterday that Minor’s potential presence on the summer trade market is a frequent topic of discussion among rival front offices, while his colleague, Ken Rosenthal, touched on the subject as the lead-in to his latest notes column.

Minor, indeed, seems like he’d be a highly coveted asset should the Rangers shop him this July. Starting pitching is always in heavy demand and short supply on the summer trade market — particularly when you’re discussing options that are more than pure rentals. Minor is earning $9.5MM in 2019 (with about $6.28MM yet to be paid out), and he’s guaranteed that same salary in 2020 under the three-year, $28MM contract he signed with Texas prior to the 2018 season. Considering his performance, that looks eminently reasonable.

The Rangers were surely pleased with the 4.18 ERA that Minor authored over 157 innings out of the rotation in 2018, especially given that it was his first work as a starting pitcher since 2014 with the Braves. Texas signed him on the heels of a terrific run out of the Royals’ bullpen, and the organization’s decision to put him back in a starting rotation looked justified based on that alone.

In 2019, Minor has taken things a step further. He’s pitched 70 2/3 innings of 2.55 ERA ball with improvements in his strikeout rate, ground-ball rate and swinging-strike rate. He’s been less prone to home runs as well, averaging 0.89 per nine innings pitched despite the launching pad in which he pitches his home games. Fielding-independent pitching metrics forecast a bit of regression on his excellent ERA but still are generally bullish on him as a solid mid-rotation arm. As is the case every summer, solid mid-rotation arms will likely be hard to come by this year, and Minor’s contractual status only enhances his appeal.

Back on Opening Day, it would’ve been simpler to see those numbers and expect that Minor would be among the top assets on the trade market. The overall team performance at least makes that thought more debatable, though. The question the Rangers have to ask themselves is whether the current club can conquer its obvious shortcomings enough to remain in the race. And, even if that’s not in the cards, whether Minor could be part of a more legitimate contender a year from now. Their defense is porous based on Defensive Runs Saved (-25) and UZR/150 (-2.8). Their bullpen, headlined by a terrible start from closer Jose Leclerc, has pitched poorly. The rotation is top-heavy and lacks depth. The chances of a postseason berth, even with Minor on board, appear thin, and the team is lacking in upper-level pitching talent — the type that could be netted in a Minor deal.

On the flipside of the coin, the Rangers rank third in the Majors in runs scored. Texas also has just $85MM committed to the next year’s payroll and a tiny arbitration class where only Joey Gallo and Nomar Mazara project for raises of note. For a team whose Opening Day payroll was $165MM as recently as 2017, there’ll be ample room to supplement the current roster. That will mean filling multiple holes, as the Rangers are currently enjoying production from one-year stopgaps like Logan Forsythe and Hunter Pence, but they’ll have plenty of budget room — particularly with Shin-Soo Choo finally off the books after 2020.

The Minor contract has turned into a success for the Rangers, but it now also leaves them with a bit of a decision on their hands. How should they proceed?

(Link to poll for Trade Rumors app users)

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MLBTR Polls Texas Rangers Mike Minor

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    Braves Select Craig Kimbrel

    Jerry Reinsdorf, Justin Ishbia Reach Agreement For Ishbia To Obtain Future Majority Stake In White Sox

    White Sox To Promote Kyle Teel

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    Pablo Lopez To Miss Multiple Months With Teres Major Strain

    MLB To Propose Automatic Ball-Strike Challenge System For 2026

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    Angels To Promote Christian Moore

    Cubs Outright Tyson Miller

    Mets To Place Kodai Senga On IL With Hamstring Strain

    Emmanuel Rivera Accepts Outright Assignment With Orioles

    Yankees Release Brandon Leibrandt To Sign In CPBL

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