Rangers Likelihood of Trading Mike Minor at Deadline Reportedly Increasing

The Rangers have fallen to four games back of the second Wild Card spot, and it now seems that the opportunity of selling their biggest asset at the deadline is too good to pass up.

According to Jon Morosi, it's becoming increasingly likely that the Rangers will ship out ace starter Mike Minor at the trade deadline. Teams such as the Brewers and Phillies have shown interest in acquiring him, but more are certainly to come.

It's hard to blame the Rangers for wanting to sell high on Minor. He ranks second in the AL with 5.9 bWAR, trailing only perennial MVP candidate Mike Trout. The next closest pitcher to him in the MLB as a whole is Washington Nationals ace Max Scherzer, with 5.5 bWAR.

2019 is a major outlier in Minor's career. He has a career-low 2.73 ERA as a starter, was selected to his first All-Star Game, and has thrown two complete games through 19 starts after managing just one in his previous 138 starts.

With a mediocre farm system and no certainty that Minor will ever be able to pitch like this again, it's best for the Rangers to squeeze every ounce of value out of him in a trade. There's no point in taking a gamble on keeping him, especially with their playoff chances dwindling (and the Oakland A's catching fire).

Minor still has another year on his contract after the end of the 2019 season, only adding to his already sky-high value.

Minor would be a welcome addition for any team looking to add a starter. He can provide quality innings every fifth day for a contender, and battles day in and day out.

And for the Rangers, he can give them a prospect haul that would make other teams looking to sell off assets at the deadline green with envy.