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Rumors connecting the Milwaukee Brewers to Texas Rangers left-hander Mike Minor are nothing new, dating back to this past winter.
The Rangers decided to hang on to the veteran, though, and he’s gone on to have the first All-Star season of his career. Minor has a 2.73 ERA through 19 starts, including 2 complete games, one of which was a shutout. He’s struck out 121 batters in 122 innings while walking 13, and giving up 13 home runs.
The Rangers are 50-45, but are now 8.5 games out of the division lead and are 4 games out of the AL’s second wildcard after losing their past 3 games and 6 of their last 10. That’s why, according to MLB Network’s Jon Morosi, Minor could be on the move in the next two weeks.
Sources: Mike Minor is increasingly likely to be traded in the next two weeks, as I reported a short time ago on @MLBNetwork. The #Brewers and #Phillies are among the interested teams, although there’s no indication that a deal is close. @MLB
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) July 17, 2019
As Morosi notes, a deal isn’t close, which isn’t all that surprising -- with the single deadline, more teams will be inclined to wait and see where they are at the end of the month before making a move. And, who knows, maybe the Rangers go on a hot streak and decide to hang on to Minor and make a playoff push.
What makes Minor an attractive trade option, aside from his All-Star performance this year, is the fact he’s signed through 2020 and slated to make a very reasonable $9.833 million next year. It’s no secret that Stearns likes his rental relievers at the deadline, but prefers starting pitchers and position players with more than one year of team control.
He could also be the most realistic trade candidate for the Brewers out there at the moment. Established starters like Robbie Ray or guys with multiple years of team control like Matthew Boyd could end up costing more prospect capital than the Brewers actually have left in their system. Someone like Minor, who is pitching well but already 31 and a free agent in a year and a half, would likely cost much less to acquire.
Gio Gonzalez will be back in the rotation this weekend, but is far from a sure thing on the mound. Adding Minor would mean getting a relatively dependable arm -- possibly one bumping Jhoulys Chacin from the rotation -- and one that could be counted on next year as well, as the contention window continues.
Statistics courtesy of Baseball-Reference