Oakland A’s land rotation help Mike Minor trade

BALTIMORE, MD - SEPTEMBER 08: Texas Rangers starting pitcher Mike Minor (23) sends one down during a MLB game between the Baltimore Orioles and the Texas Rangers on September 08, 2019, at Oriole Park at Camden Yards, in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Tony Quinn/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
BALTIMORE, MD - SEPTEMBER 08: Texas Rangers starting pitcher Mike Minor (23) sends one down during a MLB game between the Baltimore Orioles and the Texas Rangers on September 08, 2019, at Oriole Park at Camden Yards, in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Tony Quinn/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

The Oakland A’s have acquired starting pitcher Mike Minor for two players to be named later in a trade from the Texas Rangers.

In a move to bolster the team’s starting rotation, the Oakland A’s have added starting pitcher Mike Minor from the Texas Rangers.

ESPN’s Jeff Passan first broke the news on Twitter. Oakland will receive much-needed rotation help while shipping two Players To Be Named Later to Texas. According to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, it’s likely these will be prospects.

As of Monday, the Athletics control first place in the AL West with a 22-12 record. The Houston Astros sit in second, 2.5 games back of Oakland.

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While Oakland owns the AL’s second-best team ERA, the team ranks 8th in the AL in starting rotation ERA.

Minor, a veteran left-hander, has struggled early in the 2020 campaign. He is currently 0-5 with a 5.60 ERA. In seven starts, Minor has thrown 35.1 innings and averages 8.9 hits per nine innings and 3.3 walks per nine innings.

His last start was promising, however, as Minor threw six shutout innings against the World-Series favorites, Los Angeles Dodgers. Minor is an impending free agent, set to hit free agency at the end of the 2020 season.

Minor joins an A’s rotation that is complete with a combination of experience and young talent. Sean Manaea is, perhaps, Oakland’s top starter. The left-hander owns a 3.88 career ERA and was brilliant last September after returning from shoulder surgery with a 1.21 ERA over four starts.

Mike Fiers is a 10-year MLB veteran while Frankie Montas and Jesus Luzardo round out the Athletics young starting pitching talent.

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The Oakland A’s will continue its quest for the AL West crown, hoping Mike Minor’s veteran experience and impending free agency will result in a strong finish to 2020. Last week, the Athletics added another rental player acquiring Tommy La Stella from the Los Angeles Angels.