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The Athletics have acquired left-handed starting pitcher Mike Minor from the Rangers for two players to be named later, as ESPN’s Jeff Passan was the first to report on Monday:
The Oakland A's have acquired left-hander Mike Minor from the Texas Rangers for two players to be named later, sources tell ESPN. A's needed rotation help and get it with a trade for Minor, who's a free agent after this season.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) August 31, 2020
Minor, 32, has struggled with run prevention this season but has been decent overall, posting a 5.60 ERA with a 1.36 WHIP, 35 strikeouts, and 13 walks. But he’s just a year removed from a dominant 2019 season in which he made the AL All-Star team and posted a 3.59 ERA with a 1.24 WHIP, 200 strikeouts, and 68 BBs.
He’s a major addition to an A’s rotation that is much deeper than it was last year but still has dealt with some inconsistency over the season’s first six weeks. For the moment, he’ll likely displace Frankie Montas or Sean Manaea from the starting five.
The Rangers will get two minor-leaguers from outside the Athletics’ 60-man player pool. Since those players technically can’t be traded right now, we’ll have to wait until after the season to learn their identities, but with Minor being a free agent after the season, it doesn’t seem likely that they’ll be premium prospects.