Royals close to bringing back southpaw Mike Minor to bolster pitching staff
Left-handed veteran pitcher Mike Minor and the Royals are closing in on a free-agent deal that would bring the pitcher back to Kansas City.
Minor, who pitched for the Texas Rangers and Oakland Athletics in 2020, was part of the Royals organization in 2016 and 2017. He signed with the Royals as he recovered from left labrum surgery in 2015.
A source confirmed to The Kansas City Star on Sunday night that the sides were closing in on a deal, but a contract had not been finalized. Ken Rosenthal, MLB Network analyst and reporter for The Athletic, first reported what’s expected to be a two-year deal pending the completion of a physical.
Minor, who turns 33 next month, went 1-6 in 12 games (11 starts) with a 5.56 ERA, 62 strikeouts, a 1.24 WHIP and a .230 opponent’s batting average in 56 2/3 innings in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. His first seven starts came with the Rangers before a trade sent him to the Oakland Athletics for their playoff push.
After having been a starting pitcher in the majors for the Atlanta Braves from 2010-14, Minor pitched exclusively out of the bullpen for the Royals in 2017, including closing out games.
He recorded six saves and finished 13 games in 65 relief appearances (77 2/3 innings) in 2017. He registered 10.2 strikeouts per nine innings that season along with a 1.02 WHIP, 2.55 ERA and .204 opponent’s batting average.
Minor returned to his previous role as a starter with the Rangers. In 2018 and 2019, Minor made 60 starts with a 26-18 record and 3.84 ERA in 365 1/3 innings, recording 332 strikeouts, a 1.19 WHIP and 8.2 strikeouts per nine innings. He earned an American League All-Star selection in 2019. That season, he made 16 quality starts and recorded a career-best 14 wins in 32 starts.
The Royals went into this offseason intending to add starting pitching depth, with three experienced returning big-league starters in left-hander Danny Duffy and right-handers Brad Keller and Jakob Junis. Rookie starters Brady Singer and Kris Bubic made their MLB debuts this summer after neither had pitched above Double-A in the minors.
Junis, who has been a workhorse of the rotation in the past, could be a candidate to move to the bullpen.
Left-hander Mike Montgomery missed the majority of the 2020 season due to a lat injury. The Royals sent Montgomery outright to Triple-A in October, but the veteran opted for free agency rather than accept the minor-league assignment.
The Royals also have several top pitching prospects who likely would have been in the upper levels of the minor leagues this year had the minor-league season not been canceled. That group includes highly touted left-handed prospect Daniel Lynch as well as right-hander Jackson Kowar.
The absence of a minor-league season created a lot of uncertainty about how pitcher workloads will be managed in 2021, particularly those of young pitchers.
Adding experienced pitching was a priority for the Royals this winter.
This story was originally published November 29, 2020 at 11:44 PM.
