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Brad Miller

AL Notes: Indians, Miller, Forsythe, Gio

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Veteran infielder Brad Miller was understandably frustrated by the news that the Indians had opted to designate him for assignment over the weekend, writes Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. The 29-year-old Miller hit .250/.325/.417 with a homer and three doubles in his short time with the organization but lost out on his roster spot with the impending return of fellow left-handed-hitting second baseman Jason Kipnis. “It’s a tough trend,” Miller said of his DFA. “They acknowledge that it wasn’t fair. … I really enjoyed playing for Tito (Terry Francona). That’s why I’m frustrated. I want to be here. I like this group. It’s a good team and I was hoping I’d be a part of it, but they have other plans.”

Per Hoynes, Miller’s $1MM salary with the Indians wasn’t fully guaranteed by virtue of the fact that he agreed to a 45-day advance consent clause. (Full details on those clauses are explored in this 2014 piece from Trade Rumors’ Zach Links, though in essence, they allow teams to cut players with five-plus years of service at any point within the season’s first 45 days for any reason other than injury.) Miller will still be paid for the time he spent with the Indians, but he’ll receive the pro-rated portion of that $1MM salary while losing out on the rest of it. Notably, Hoynes reports that designated hitter Hanley Ramirez also has such a clause in his contract.

Some more from the American League…

  • Infielder Logan Forsythe spoke with MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan about his decision to sign with the Rangers, specifically how the opportunity to play on a near-everyday basis by rotating through a number of positions spoke to him. “Most teams that looked at me had a pretty set infield,” said Forsythe. “There weren’t too many everyday jobs out there, or there were, but not too many guys were signing them. More teams were going for the utility or the platooning matchup type players.” As Sullivan details, Forsythe starts at second base against lefties and first base against righties, and he’s also available as a backup to Asdrubal Cabrera and Elvis Andrus, should either left-side infielder need a day off.
  • Veteran lefty Gio Gonzalez is awaiting an opportunity in the Major Leagues with the Yankees as an opt-out clause in his minor league contract looms, Mark W. Sanchez of the New York Post writes. The Yankees, according to Gonzalez, were the only club to even make him an offer this winter and didn’t do so until midway through Spring Training after an injury to Luis Severino. The southpaw had a brutal first start in Triple-A but has bounced back with a pair of strong outings, yielding just two runs through 11 innings with an 18-to-3 K/BB ratio. Gonzalez didn’t shy away from voicing his displeasure with the manner in which the offseason unfolded but also said he doesn’t feel he needs to pitch as though he has a point to prove: “No. I have nothing left to prove to people. [I] throw 180 innings, do your thing, I’m durable, doing it for the last 10 years. If I still have to prove a point, that’s embarrassing in this sport.”

Indians To Designate Brad Miller For Assignment

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The Indians informed Brad Miller that he has been designated for assignment, per MLB.com’s Mandy Bell (via Twitter). Jason Kipnis returns from the injured list to take Miller’s spot on the roster, adds Paul Hoynes of Cleveland.com (via Twitter).

Miller filled in admirably for the Tribe through the season’s first two weeks, as manager Tito Francona slotted him into the lineup at second base to start 11 of their first 14 games. While his stay in Cleveland was short, he worked a .250/.333/.438 batting line with four extra base hits over that span – perhaps showing enough pop to get another look elsewhere. A significant amount of swing-and-miss remains in Miller’s game, as he struck out at a 27.8 K% clip, not at that far off from his 23.6 career K-rate.

Over a seven-year career with stopovers in Seattle, Tampa Bay and Milwaukee (before Cleveland), Miller owns a .239/.313/.409 slash line with 76 career home runs, which comes to a roughly league-average rate by measure of weighted runs created plus (99 wRC+). That’s essentially the expectation asked of and fulfilled by Miller for the Indians while their regular starting middle infield worked their way back from injury.

Kipnis figures to reclaim regular starting duties at second base so long as he can stay healthy. Kipnis brings his .263/.337/.417 line to a Cleveland lineup that also added veteran Carlos Gonzalez today. On its face, Kipnis doesn’t seem like much of an upgrade from what Miller has provided thus far, but if nothing else, he represents a stabilizing veteran presence as the longest-tenured position player on the Cleveland roster. The 32-year-old Chicago native has been in the organization since they drafted him in the second round of the 2009 draft, while he made his major league debut in 2011.

 

Indians Sign Brad Miller

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3:34pm: Jon Heyman of MLB Network tweets that Miller will receive a $1MM base salary on his contract.

10:52am: The Indians have signed infielder/outfielder Brad Miller to a major league contract, Mandy Bell of MLB.com reports. Paul Hoynes of cleveland.com first connected Miller to the Tribe earlier this weekend. To make room for Miller, the Indians placed rehabbing right-hander Danny Salazar on the 60-day injured list.

It’s a one-year pact for the ISE Baseball client, who had to settle for a minors deal with the Dodgers back in February. The 29-year-old opted out of that contract earlier this week in favor of a trip to the open market, however. The gamble paid off for Miller, who will give the Indians an experienced middle infield option as they wait for shortstop Francisco Lindor and second baseman Jason Kipnis to return from the injured list.

Prior to Miller’s arrival, the unproven tandem of Eric Stamets and Max Moroff projected as the Indians’ season-opening middle infield. But Miller’s addition will likely unseat Moroff at second, according to Hoynes. Miller has totaled upward of 1,100 major league innings at the keystone, where he has accounted for minus-seven Defensive Runs Saved and a minus-7.4 Ultimate Zone Rating. The former Mariner, Ray and Brewer has seen quite a bit of action at shortstop, first base and in the outfield as well, though he has also struggled in those spots.

Defensive versatility is part of Miller’s appeal, but offense has been his calling card in the bigs. A 30-home run hitter in Tampa Bay as recently as 2016, Miller has combined for a roughly league-average line of .239/.313/.409 (99 wRC+) with 75 HRs and a .170 ISO in 2,505 major league PAs. Miller essentially matched those numbers between the Rays and Brewers last year, when he hit .248/.311/.409 (97 wRC+) with seven homers and a .165 ISO in 254 trips to the plate. The left-handed Miller struck out a personal-worst 32.5 percent of the time, though, and didn’t offer much production against southpaws – which has been the case throughout his career.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Brad Miller Opts Out Of Contract With Dodgers

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Infielder/outfielder Brad Miller has opted out of his minor-league deal with the Dodgers, per a club announcement. He’s heading back onto the open market.

Miller, 29, had joined the organization in hopes of being the latest infielder to resurrect his career in Los Angeles. While he showed well in spring action, he obviously wasn’t ticketed for a roster spot and decided to test his luck in free agency.

At times in the not-so-distant past, Miller has shown big power (30 home runs in 2016) and big patience (15.5% walk rate in 2017). Unfortunately, those two characteristics have yet to show up fully in the same season. In 254 plate appearances last year, Miller slashed .248/.311/.413 — a near match for his career-average line of .239/.313/.409, which itself equates to league-average productivity at the plate.

Teams that like what they saw out of Miller this spring, when he knocked eight base hits (two of them home runs) in 25 plate appearances, will have plenty of ways to make him fit on a major-league roster. Miller has plenty of experience in the middle infield and has spent some time at both corner infield and all three outfield spots. He hasn’t been trusted much recently at shortstop and hasn’t graded as a plus defender at any position, but still rates as a rather versatile player.

Dodgers To Sign Brad Miller

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The Dodgers have inked infielder Brad Miller to a minor league deal, Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times reports on Twitter. He’ll join the MLB side of Spring Training once the deal is finalized.

Miller, 29, has generally been a solid offensive performer, with an overall track record of .239/.313/.409 hitting through 2,505 plate appearances in six MLB seasons. He delivers notable pop for a player capable of playing the middle infield, with a lifetime .170 isolated power mark and one thirty-homer season under his belt (2016). A left-handed hitter, Miller has typically found quite a bit more success against right-handed pitching, with a 46-point platoon split in his lifetime wRC+ figures.

It’s hard to characterize Miller otherwise, as his offensive profile has shifted over the last few seasons. His follow-up to his power surge was a 2017 season in which he lept to a 15.5% walk rate but managed only a .201 batting average and career-low .136 ISO.

It was also in 2017 that Miller began to strike out with greater frequency. That issue truly came to the fore last year, when he went down on strikes in nearly a third of his plate appearances. Otherwise, though, Miller turned in a relatively balanced campaign that mostly reflected his career mean, with a .248/.311/.413 slash and seven home runs through 254 plate appearances.

The shapeshifting hasn’t prevented Miller from typically turning in plenty of offense for a shortstop. But he hasn’t been asked to line up there since ’16, when metrics distinctly soured on his glovework. Miller hasn’t graded as a positive on the right side of the infield, either, but he can probably be trusted with at least some innings anywhere on the dirt.

Making the Dodgers roster out of camp will likely be a tall order for Miller, though his versatility and platoon-friendly offensive profile certainly suit the club’s mantra. Miller will look to follow in the footsteps of several other recent utilitymen — including former Mariners shortstop competitor Chris Taylor and 2018 breakout performer Max Muncy — in finding new form in Los Angeles. Muncy’s own presence on the roster is what makes Miller seem like a particularly tough fit at this point, though any number of developments could leave Miller with an opening to stake a claim to a job.

Brewers Release Brad Miller

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JULY 31: The Brewers have released Miller.

JULY 28: The Brewers have designated infielder Brad Miller, per a team announcement. The move was made to make room for the newly-acquired Mike Moustakas on the active roster. At the same time, the club reinstated right-handed reliever Matt Albers from the 10-day disabled list and optioned outfielder Keon Broxton to Triple-A.

Milwaukee acquired the 28-year-old Miller earlier this season in a one-for-one swap with the Rays, to whom they sent first baseman Ji-Man Choi in exchange. That hasn’t worked out quite as they’d hoped, as Miller’s been worse in 80 plate appearances in Milwaukee than he was in Tampa Bay this season. Since coming over, he’s hit just .230/.288/.378 with an eye-popping 38.8% strikeout rate. That’s incredibly concerning considering his abnormally high .366 BABIP.

Miller’s amassed 2,505 plate appearances during his MLB career, mostly with the Mariners and Rays. All told, he owns a .239/.313/.409 batting line with 75 career home runs. Miller came up through Seattle’s system after being selected early in the second round of the 2011 draft. He put up excellent power and contact numbers throughout his minor-league career while putting up a walk rate of at least 11% at every level from Class A-Advanced up. Those gaudy totals never translated to the majors, though, and while he was a useful player at times, the organizations he was a part of were surely disappointed to never see him reach his full potential.

Brewers Option Domingo Santana

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The Brewers announced today that they’ve optioned outfielder Domingo Santana to Triple-A Colorado Springs. In a related move, the club has elected to promote Brad Miller, whom the team acquired from the Rays just under two weeks ago.

It’s been quite the fall from grace for the soon-to-be 26-year-old Santana, who last season enjoyed a breakout campaign headlined by 30 homers, 15 stolen bases and a .278/.371/.505 batting line. That hardly seems like a fluke on the surface, considering Santana’s .362 xwOBA ranked just outside the 10th percentile among 546 hitters with at least 50 batted ball events. His hard contact rate (39.7%) and plate discipline (12% walk rate, 26.5% chase rate) also supported the argument that Santana was simply a very good hitter.

Santana’s struggles this season have been well-documented. He appears to have taken a step backwards in nearly every facet of his game. Certainly the power has mysteriously disappeared, evidenced by a mere three homers and .354 slugging percentage. But equally alarming is the fact that his walk rate has dropped off significantly; his 8.5% clip so far would be the lowest of his career by a full two points (not including an 18 PA cup of coffee in 2014). Santana’s batting average has also dropped a full 31 points even despite a marginal increase over last year’s gaudy .363 BABIP. His one stolen base thus far puts him on pace for a dramatic drop-off from the 15 bases he stole in 2017.

One of the biggest differences in Santana’s game this year is his batted ball profile. His line drive rate has plummeted from 27.4% last season to 22.8% so far in 2018. Those lost liners have all turned into ground balls, and as a result Santana’s hit the ball on the ground more than half the time this year. He’s also been chasing quite a few more pitches outside of the strike zone; his chase rate of 30.8% is a large jump from last year’s 26.5% clip.

The move likely means more playing time for Jesus Aguilar, who’s been a revelation for the Brewers this season. Aguilar, who came to Milwaukee last year after being designated for assignment by the Indians, has been one of the top ten best hitters in baseball this season. However, due in part to the return of Eric Thames to the lineup, Aguilar has sat on the bench twice in the past week. The removal of Santana from the active roster should help clear up a bit more playing time for a hitter who has certainly earned it with his 16 homers and .975 OPS.

Rays Trade Brad Miller To Brewers For Ji-Man Choi

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June 11: Tampa Bay is covering $2.209MM of the remaining $2.709MM remaining on Miller’s contract through season’s end, according to the Associated Press. Choi’s split contract calls for an $850K salary in the Majors and a $250K salary in the minors, and he’d be owed about $513K through season’s end if he were to spend the rest of the year in the Majors. That doesn’t seem likely to be the case, so the Rays will save a bit of money while paying Choi at his minor league rate of pay, though the overall cost-savings in the deal look to be more or less negligible, even for a cost-conscious club like Tampa Bay.

June 10: The Rays have dealt infielder Brad Miller to the Brewers for first baseman Ji-Man Choi, as announced by both teams on Twitter.  Tampa will also send some cash to Milwaukee as part of the deal.  Miller and Choi have each been optioned to Triple-A with their respective new organizations.

Miller was designated for assignment earlier this week, though he had hit respectably well (.256/.322/.429 with five homers) over 174 plate appearances for the Rays this season.  Beyond those decent batting numbers, however, Miller brought little else to the table — he has continued his career-long struggles against left-handed pitching, and has posted below-average defensive numbers wherever he has played around the diamond.  Miller is also coming off a rough 2017 campaign, so it could be that the Rays sought to sell as high as they could on him while he was still productive, in order to get at least some of his $2.79MM in remaining salary off the books.

[Updated Brewers and Rays depth charts at Roster Resource]

Though Miller doesn’t bring much defensive value as a shortstop or second baseman, he can at least offer the Brew Crew some extra pop at both middle infield positions.  Jonathan Villar hasn’t done much against righty pitching over the last couple of years, while defensively-gifted shortstop Orlando Arcia is suffering through a dreadful year at the plate.  Miller and Arcia could form a platoon, with Arcia stepping in as a late-game defensive replacement on days when Miller starts, plus the Brewers also have veteran Eric Sogard in the bench mix.

Middle infield was a weak spot for a Brewers team that is fighting for a postseason berth, and the low-cost addition of Miller could mean that the club won’t seek out more substantial second base or shortstop help at the trade deadline.  Miller also adds a bit more depth to the roster at first base and in the corner outfield positions, though Milwaukee is already pretty set at those spots.

Choi signed a minor league deal with the Brewers last offseason that guaranteed him $850K if he reached the majors, so he’ll only add another $510K or so to Tampa’s payroll.  The 27-year-old hit .233/.281/.500 over 32 plate appearances for the Crew, getting some time at first base with Eric Thames and Ryan Braun hit the disabled list.  (Just yesterday, in fact, Choi hit a pinch-hit grand slam in Milwaukee’s 12-3 rout of the Phillies.)  The 27-year-old will essentially replace Miller as a left-handed hitting option in the Rays organization, though the team is currently giving top prospect Jake Bauers (another lefty bat) a chance to stick in the big leagues as a regular first baseman.

Rays Designate Brad Miller For Assignment

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The Rays have designated infielder Brad Miller for assignment, as Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports on Twitter. His roster spot will go to Jake Bauers, who has been called up as expected.

Miller, 28, was a non-tender candidate and a trade/release candidate throughout the offseason after struggling through a dismal 2017 campaign, but he agreed to a $4.5MM salary to avoid arbitration and broke camp with the club at the end of Spring Training. To his credit, he’s done a nice job of rebounding from last year’s dreadful .201/.327/.337 slash. Through his first 174 plate appearances in 2018, Miller has hit .256/.322/.429 with five homers, 10 doubles and a triple.

While that slash line is above the league average, it’s also dependent on a .343 BABIP that is way north of Miller’s career mark of .287. That trend is all the more concerning given that Miller is putting fewer balls in play than ever before; he’s striking out at a career-worst 29.3 percent pace in 2018 and carries a fairly characteristic platoon split that has rendered him largely unplayable against left-handed pitching (.639 OPS against lefties in 35 PAs).

The hope for the Rays, clearly, is that Bauers can provide an offensive spark. He’ll give the Rays a left-handed bat to replace the lefty-swinging Miller and a considerably better glove to play at first base. He also comes to the big leagues with more outfield experience than Miller has, so he’ll give manager Kevin Cash an option in that regard as well. Bauers has crushed left-handed pitching in a small sample so far in 2018 and posted a .396 OBP against lefties last year as well, so he also represents a more well-rounded offensive player, in theory.

Tampa Bay will now have a week to either trade, outright or release Miller, who is owed about $2.79MM through season’s end. That salary makes it tough to envision a straight waiver claim taking place, but Miller has a bit of defensive versatility (even if he’s not a plus defender at any position) and has a track record of hitting right-handed pitching well. It’s possible, then, that the Rays could find a taker on the trade market if they agree to pay down a portion of that remaining sum.

Rays Designate Brandon Snyder For Assignment

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The Rays have designated infielder Brandon Snyder for assignment in order to open a spot on the roster for fellow infielder Brad Miller, who is returning from the disabled list (Twitter link via Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times).

Snyder, 28, went 1-for-6 with a double in a pair of games for Tampa Bay after having his contract selected earlier this week. That marked the 31-year-old’s first action at the Major League level since 2016, when he made 47 plate appearances for the rebuilding Braves. The former Orioles prospect was the 13th overall pick back in the 2005 draft but has yet to tally even 70 plate appearances in a single big league season. He’s a career .242/.279/.459 hitter with nine homers in just 205 big league plate appearances and a .259/.326/.426 hitter in 2353 Triple-A plate appearances.

As for Miller, he’ll return after spending nearly two weeks on the shelf with a groin strain. The 28-year-old enjoyed a 30-homer campaign back in 2016 but followed that power surge with the worst offensive campaign of his career. He’s off to a .222/.300/.370 start through 30 plate appearances as he looks to rebound from last year’s down season.

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