MLB Trade Rumors: Phillies, Mets in on Mike Minor

MLB Trade Rumors: The Philadelphia Phillies and New York Mets have shown the “heaviest trade interest” in Mike Minor, the Texas Rangers lefthanded pitcher, according to Ken Rosenthal. Anthony DiComo says that the Rangers asked the Mets about minor league pitchers David Peterson and Anthony Kay last week, pitchers that T.R. Sullivan suggested the Rangers had interest in last week.

Minor is under contract through 2020, and is due roughly $19 million over the next two years — about the same as what Anibal Sanchez just got over two years from the Washington Nationals. Minor logged a 3.7 bWAR and 2.2 fWAR in his return to a starting role last season, and profiles as a nice mid-rotation starter with the potential to do more.

Minor is currently set to head up the Rangers’ 2019 rotation, but with starting pitching being in demand, it makes sense that the Rangers are going to look at what he could bring in a trade. The Mets are on Minor’s no-trade list, but not the Phillies, though it sounds like discussions with both teams are in an exploratory phase right now. We may need to see a few more pitchers get taken out of the free agent market before it can be determined if a team is going to make an offer that the Rangers feel is worth pulling the trigger on with Minor.

The Rangers would probably be looking for a package similar to what they got from Pittsburgh in the Keone Kela deal to move Minor — an upper level starting pitcher who is a top 150 or so caliber prospect, along with another solid prospect or two in the deal. If such a deal isn’t out there, then the Rangers would seem likely to hold onto Minor, see how the first few months of the season go, and examine the market for him at the trade deadline, should they be out of contention.