SURPRISE, Ariz. - Left-hander Mike Minor was a valuable commodity with Kansas City last season: a dominating left-handed reliever.
Minor had a 2.55 ERA for 77 2/3 innings. He had 23 saves and holds in 26 chances. He had the fifth-best WHIP among major-league relievers with 75 innings at 1.02.
Minor belonged in the same class with Cleveland's Andrew Miller, a difference-making, left-handed reliever.
So why is Minor so insistent upon returning to his roots and starting again? And why are the Rangers going along with that?
"I've been a starter my whole life," Minor said on Monday.