Texas Rangers Trade LHP Mike Minor to Oakland A's for Two Players To Be Named Later

The Texas Rangers have traded starting pitcher Mike Minor to the Oakland Athletics for two players to be named later.

The Texas Rangers have traded starting pitcher Mike Minor to the Oakland Athletics for two players to be named later, the club confirmed on Monday afternoon

Per multiple reports, the A's are sending OF Marcus Smith and 3B Dustin Harris to the Rangers. Smith is Oakland's No. 22 prospect on MLB Pipeline; No. 21 on Baseball America. Harris was Oakland's 11th round pick in 2019. Harris has also spent some time playing first base.

According to sources, the Rangers are picking up half of Minor's remaining salary in 2020. The Rangers are also receiving $133,000 in international draft compensation. 

The Athletic's Melissa Lockard gave her evaluation of what the Rangers are getting back in the trade:

I really like both prospects a lot, so I'd say it's a very nice return for Minor. Smith has excellent speed, smart hitter and handles the bat well. Can play CF. Harris can really hit, still needs to develop power to stick at 3B/1B.

— Melissa Lockard (@melissalockard) August 31, 2020

Clubs can only officially trade players in their 60-man pools, but can use the "player to be named later" as a way around the limitation.

After two solid seasons for the Rangers, Mike Minor has struggled thus far in 2020. He's 0-5 with a 5.60 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP. The A's have a tendency to go after relievers when they are contending, but with the bullpen performing so well in 2020, they needed a potential upgrade in their rotation. 

In 2019, Minor led all pitchers in baseball with a 7.8 bWAR. He's struggled with his changeup thus far in 2020, which is his best out pitch. However, his last start with the Rangers was a good one. He pitched six shutout innings in Friday night's victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers. His changeup looked much better, both in terms of command and movement. 

This is a developing story. We will update as we gather more information.

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