Has Minor thrown his final pitch for the Texas Rangers? This decision suggests he has.
The MLB trade winds are indeed blowing, as evidenced Saturday by the Oakland A’s acquiring left-hander Jake Diekman from the Kansas City Royals.
Diekman, who was traded last July by the Rangers to the Arizona Diamondbacks, is expected to be at Oakland Coliseum on Sunday or Tuesday.
Meanwhile, 1,400 miles away in Arlington, the Rangers’ front office was stuck in the doldrums.
“Quiet as a mouse,” one official said.
“Pretty slow, man,” said another, who then added, “Nothing.”
With four days until the annual trade deadline arrives, the Rangers are bracing for an 11th-hour rush to 3 p.m. Wednesday.
But within all the nothingness came this development Saturday afternoon: The Rangers are anticipating that they will move Mike Minor.
No one directly said that, but the Rangers pushed his next scheduled start from Tuesday to Wednesday. Ariel Jurado will start the opener of a two-game series against the Seattle Mariners.
Moving Minor back also gives the Rangers more time and fewer headaches when trying to strike a deal.
“Everybody knows he’s getting a lot publicity for possibly being traded,” manager Chris Woodward said. “On Tuesday, it just creates a little bit of issue. If there’s chances he might get traded, do you want him to pitch that day? Do the other teams want him to pitch that day? We didn’t want to have to deal with having to pull him out at the last second.”
The Rangers are communicating with other teams, but sources said nothing has gained much traction. Minor is drawing the most attention, but several teams have inquired about right-hander Lance Lynn.
Minor and Lynn aren’t the only two players getting hits, but they would likely produce the most talent-rich packages. The Milwaukee Brewers and Philadelphia Phillies attempted to acquire Minor during the offseason and still have interest, and the Atlanta Braves and New York Yankees are also thought to be shopping for starting pitching.
Woodward said that Minor’s July (0-2, 6.04 ERA, seven homers allowed in 22 1/3 innings) should not put a dent in his value. His ERA is still 3.00.
Woodward was also well aware of what Yu Darvish did in his final Rangers start in 2017, before he was trade to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Woodward was their third-base coach.
“He got crushed,” Woodward said.
Darvish allowed 10 runs in 3 2/3 innings only five days before the deadline.
“If you’re giving me examples of guys who gave up 10, Mike didn’t give up 10,” Woodward said. “I think people would be foolish, other teams, that those would get in the way of getting him.”
Among the others Rangers mentioned in trade rumors are Nomar Mazara, Hunter Pence, Danny Santana and Jose Leclerc. Chris Martin is another potential target, as a free agent after the season and because he’s pitching well in relief.
The Rangers haven’t altered their schedules, though. Doing so with Minor is an indication he will be traded, even though no one is anyone saying so.
“JD keeps me very involved, but it’s just to keep me informed on what could happen,” Woodward said. “There are a lot moves that could happened as the result of one guy getting traded.”
This story was originally published July 27, 2019 at 7:18 PM.
