Mike Minor Trade: A's Land Much-Needed Rotation Help At Deadline

Image credit: Mike Minor (Matthew Pearce/Icon Sportswire Via Getty)

The A’s moved to bolster their rotation in the closing hours of the trade deadline on Monday by swinging a deal to acquire lefthander Mike Minor from the division-rival Rangers.

The acquisition upgrades a rotation beset by inconsistency Mike Fiers, Frankie Montas and Sean Manaea. Montas and Manaea each have ERAs north of 5.00, and Fiers is only a tick better at 4.86.

In return, the Rangers are acquiring two players to be named later and international slot money. Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports the two prospects are OF Marcus Smith and 3B Dustin Harris, but they cannot officially be named because they are not part of the A’s 60-man player pool.

ATHLETICS ACQUIRE:

Mike Minor, LHP
Age: 32

Minor has not been great this season. He is 0-5, 5.60 through seven starts and has allowed a home run nearly every five innings (seven in 35.1 innings). But he is striking out nearly nine batters per nine innings and has a four-seam fastball with a spin rate in the 97th percentile. His walk rate, which is 3.3 per nine innings, is the highest of his career since 2011. The A’s are hoping Minor can revert to his 2019 form, when he went 14-10, 3.59, pitched 208.1 innings and finished eighth in voting for the American League Cy Young Award.

RANGERS ACQUIRE

Marcus Smith, OF
Age: 19

Smith was the A’s third-round pick last season and ranked as Oakland’s No. 21 prospect. He’s a small, speedy athlete who is a plus defender in center field and can wreak havoc on the bases. He has plus-plus speed and knows how to use it. Harris is a patient hitter who draws plenty of walks and knows his game. He’s a slash-and-dash hitter from the left side who doesn’t offer much in the way of power but has solid barrel awareness and puts the ball in play to let his speed work. Harris projects as a potential leadoff hitting center fielder if everything clicks. He spend last season in the Rookie-level Arizona League and has a long way to go.

Dustin Harris, 3B
Age: 21

The A’s drafted Harris in the 11th-round out of St. Petersburg (Fla.) JC last season. He quickly conquered the Rookie-level Arizona League after signing and advanced to short-season Vermont, where he hit .321 in 23 games to finish the season. Harris has the ability to play both infield corner spots and shows strong contact skills from the left side. He’ll have to grow into more power to profile as a 3B/1B, but his hitting ability from the left side and solid strike-zone discipline make for a solid foundation to start with.