MLB Roundup 12/5: Mike Minor agrees to terms with Rangers

Rangers reportedly agree to terms with Mike Minor

While the baseball world waits on the conclusion of the Giancarlo Stanton and Shohei Ohtani sagas, there aren’t going to be many major moves. Texas finds themselves as one of the seven finalists for Ohtani, but they still went out and signed another pitcher on Monday night. According to Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic, Texas and Mike Minor have agreed to a deal pending a physical. As of this writing, the exact terms are still unknown. This is an interesting signing to me, largely because of Texas’ supposed plan. I had been thinking of Minor as a reliever-only despite having started for his entire career before 2017. It seems, though, that Texas is planning to put him back in the rotation. Frankly, this seems dumb to me as most of Minor’s gains in 2017 were due to him throwing in short stints. That, combined with his injury history, would make me want to keep him in shorter outings. The Rangers, obviously, are still able to change their minds about Minor’s role. Either way, I was becoming more and more intrigued by Minor for the Red Sox, as the team could really use a left-handed reliever. If he was looking for a team to let him start, obviously Boston was out of the running from the start. Still, this one hurts a little bit.

The Royals are going for a rebuild

There’s no real surprise here, but on Monday we received some clarification of Kansas City’s plans after losing Minor, Eric Hosmer, Mike Moustakas and Lorenzo Cain in free agency. Again according Rosenthal, they will be heading towards a rebuild of some sort or another. This was always the most likely road for the Royals, and now it’s a matter of how far they will take it. One would assume relievers like Kelvin Herrera and Joakim Soria will certainly be available. Along those same lines, Scott Alexander could be the most intriguing target for the Red Sox. Alexander is a lefty, and while he’s not the typical overpowering pitcher you want in a modern bullpen, he is one of the most extreme ground ballers in all of baseball. If the Royals want to strip it all down, Whit Merrifield could be their biggest trade chip as the infielder broke out in a big way in 2017. The Red Sox likely wouldn’t want to pay the price for him, but he would fit the roster as a second baseman who could transition to a super utility role upon Dustin Pedroia’s return.