Report: Texas Rangers Trade Mike Minor to Oakland A’s

The Texas Rangers have reportedly made their first move of the deadline period sending LHP Mike Minor to the Oakland Athletics.

Not long after the San Diego Padres and Cleveland Indians made waves by agreeing a deal to send Mike Clevinger to the west coast, the Texas Rangers followed up with a starting pitching trade of their own. Surprisingly, it’s not Lance Lynn but Mike Minor who is the first departure of the MLB Trade Deadline period for Texas. Jeff Passan reported late Monday morning that Texas had agreed a deal to send Mike Minor to the Oakland A’s.

Per the report, which has been confirmed by numerous outlets, the Rangers will receive a pair of Players To Be Named Later for Minor. A reminder that because of the current roster rules in 2020, only players currently on a team’s 60-man player pool can be traded. So in the case of this move, the players to be named later are likely prospects not on that 60-man pool meaning Oakland cannot currently trade them. It’s likely the return for Texas has already been agreed but will be announced at a later date.

Minor seemed a likely candidate to be moved by the Rangers this summer considering he is set to be a free agent at season’s end. Minor has struggled in 2020 after putting up impressive campaigns in 2018 and 2019, his first two seasons with the club.

So far this season, Minor has a 5.60 in seven starts for Texas and has been open about his struggles on the mound. However, there’s reason to believe that he can turn a corner this season and his struggles are not believed to be linked to any sort of injury. Added value for Minor comes from his experience in the bullpen where he spent the bulk of his career prior to arriving in Arlington. For a contender like the A’s, Minor provides some rotation depth and potential relief help for relatively low cost.