Texas Rangers: Three potential landing spots for Mike Minor

Philadelphia Phillies

The Phillies entered the year with high expectations, and those expectations only skyrocketed once they signed Bryce Harper to a 13-year, $330 million contract. They currently sit in 3rd place in the National League East, 6.5 games behind the first place Braves. They also sit as the second NL Wild Card.

It will be interesting to see what approach they take this trade season. They have the talent to make the postseason and maybe even a deep postseason run. But they’re certainly not going to do the latter with their current pitching.

Philly’s rotation ranks 16th in MLB in ERA, 7th in walks allowed and 18th in opponent’s batting average. Frankly, none of their starting pitchers have performed as was expected this season. Seems like a team that could use Mike Minor, who is having far and away the best year of his career.

The Phillies’ farm system ranks 14th in MLB. They only have two prospects in MLB’s top 100, though the bulk of their top 10 consists of positions the Texas Rangers could use (pitcher, catcher, middle infield).

Bryce Harper is going to be around for a long time, so Philadelphia may not go the blockbuster route this month. They went blockbuster at last year’s trade deadline, acquiring catcher J.T. Realmuto in exchange for three prospects, two of which ranked in their top five. Minor may not be worth that much, but he’ll be in that range. Will the Phillies be willing to forfeit major youth two years in a row?