Miller, 34 next month, was the 19th-overall pick in the 2009 draft by the Cardinals and appeared to be a budding star during the early 2010s as he posted a 3.22 ERA in 575 1/3 innings of work from his debut in 2012 through the end of the 2015 season, when he made it to the All-Star game with the Braves. The wheels came off for Miller after that, however, and he struggled badly with both injuries and ineffectiveness over the next several years. From 2016 to 2022, Miller saw little success at the big league level with a ghastly 7.02 ERA in 202 2/3 combined innings of work across six seasons. His 5.21 FIP in that time indicated he made have been the victim of some poor luck, but even that figure was well below the league average mark for a pitcher.

Fortunately for Miller, he managed to turn his fortunes around after signing a minor league deal with the Dodgers ahead of his age-32 season last year. Now a full-time reliever, Miller pitched 42 innings for L.A. last season and dominated to the tune of an excellent 1.71 ERA that was backed up by a solid 3.68 FIP and a 25.8% strikeout rate. Miller’s impressive turnaround earned him a big league deal with the Tigers last offseason that guaranteed him $3MM.

It’s a contract that did not turn out especially well for Detroit, as a handful of blow-up outings marred an otherwise solid season for the right-hander. While 37 of his 51 appearances with the Tigers this year were scoreless, he had five outings where he surrendered three or more runs while recording three outs or less, including a disastrous outing last month where he surrendered four runs on four consecutive hits without recording an out. Turning back to his overall season in 2024, his 4.53 ERA and 4.48 FIP are both worse than league average, and his 21.8% strikeout rate represents a significant step back from last year’s level. Miller also struggled with the long ball this year relative to his time in L.A. as 12.3% of his fly balls have left the yard, nearly double last year’s rate.

Still, with free agency on the horizon for Miller once again it seems possible he could garner interest as a middle relief option this winter. Even considering his down year with the Tigers this year, the right-hander has pitched to a 3.32 ERA with a 4.14 FIP in 97 2/3 innings since rebounding with the Dodgers last winter with a combined 23.5% strikeout rate and an 8.2% walk rate. That gives Miller a fairly solid track record if his last two seasons are looked at in tandem, and it’s not hard to imagine a club believing his true talent level falls somewhere between last year’s dominant performance and his slightly below average results in 2024.

It’s been a wild season for the Tigers. They were a bit below .500 for a lot of the summer and ultimately acted as straightforward sellers at the deadline. They flipped out impending veteran free agents Jack Flaherty, Andrew Chafin, Mark Canha and Carson Kelly.

With two months left to go in the season, they gave playing time to their younger players, looking to see who would step forward and take on roles in 2025 and beyond. But the results have been so positive that the club has resurrected what looked like a lost season. They have gone 30-17 over August and September as other American League clubs have scuffled. As of today, the Tigers and Royals are tied for the final two Wild Card spots with the Twins one game back and the Mariners two games back.

With one week left and the Tigers looking to put the finishing touches on their improbable comeback, they are willing to consider all options for strengthening their club, which apparently includes calling up one of the top prospects in baseball.

Jobe, now 22, was selected third overall in the 2021 draft. Going into 2022, he hadn’t yet made his professional debut but was already considered one of the top prospects in the league, as Baseball America ranked him #79 overall at that time. He didn’t post amazing results immediately. He made 18 starts at Single-A to begin his career, logging 61 2/3 innings. He struck out 26.3% of batters faced and walked 9% but allowed 12 home runs, leading to a 4.52 ERA. He was promoted to High-A for three starts to finish the year with better results, posting a 1.15 ERA in those.

In 2023, inflammation in his lower back prevented him from getting into a game until the middle of June, but he performed well from there. He tossed 64 innings across multiple levels with a 2.81 ERA, 32.6% strikeout rate and miniscule walk rate of 2.3%. Here in 2024, he has thrown 91 2/3 innings, again across multiple levels. He has a 2.36 ERA in those 21 starts, striking out 25.6% of batters faced but walking 12%.

The strong results have boosted his prospect stock. Baseball America currently ranks him second overall, behind only Roman Anthony of the Red Sox. MLB Pipeline has him #6 and FanGraphs #15. ESPN ranked him #9 last month while Keith Law of The Athletic put him at #10 in July. He sits in the mid to high 90s with his fastball and has a slider/sweeper that is considered his best pitch, as well as featuring a changeup and cutter.

Jobe is considered a potential future ace but will join the club’s relief mix for now. That’s understandable since his workload this year is already a personal high and thrusting an inexperienced guy into a rotation role in the middle of a tight playoff race could lead to unknown results. However, it’s also worth noting that the Tigers haven’t been deploying a traditional pitching staff of late, using a lot of openers followed by bulk guys to strong results. Though Jobe will be working as a reliever, it’s entirely possible that manager A.J. Hinch could give him lots of innings if that seems to be the best course of action.

Exactly how and when the club lets Jobe loose remains to be seen, but it’s an intriguing development for the final week of the regular season and perhaps into the playoffs. If the Tigers hold on to play in October, Jobe should be eligible to participate. If a player is in an organization but not on a 40-man roster prior to September, they are often granted an exception by the commissioner to be postseason eligible.

Jobe won’t have enough time to exhaust his rookie status here in 2024, so the Tigers will be able to keep prospect promotion incentives on the table for 2025. Per the collective bargaining agreement, top prospects can earn their clubs extra draft picks if they are promoted for a full year of service and meet certain awards voting criteria. If Jobe is able to secure a rotation job out of the gate in 2025, that could be in play next year. He’ll be competing for a gig next to Tarik Skubal, Reese Olson, Casey Mize, Keider Montero, Brant Hurter, Kenta Maeda and others.

Miller, 33, signed with the Tigers in the offseason on a one-year deal with a $3MM guarantee, club option and incentives. That investment hasn’t paid off especially well for the club. He has tossed 55 2/3 innings this year with a 4.53 ERA, 21.8% strikeout rate and 5.8% walk rate. He seems to have fallen out of favor, only pitching twice since September 6 and not at all since September 17.

The Tigers will put him on waivers in the coming days but there will be little incentive for any club to claim him. He won’t be postseason eligible for any other team and the regular season is almost done. He’s an impending free agent so there’s no long-term benefit. If he clears waivers, he would have the right to elect free agency. He accept an outright assignment and hope for a postseason opportunity to open up, as Carlos Carrasco just did with the Guardians, or perhaps he will simply decide to get his offseason started ahead of schedule.

With a 52-54 record, the Tigers are still technically in contention this season, as they sit only 5.5 games back of the final AL wild card berth.  A stirring 14-8 record in July has kept Detroit alive in the playoff picture, yet with the postseason still something of a longshot, this recent surge hasn’t been enough to detract from the Tigers’ plan to move some veterans.

Jack Flaherty and Mark Canha have been mentioned in trade rumors already, but Petzold notes that the Tigers are “shopping” catcher Carson Kelly.  As MLBTR’s Steve Adams observed in a piece earlier this month, Kelly has rebounded after a couple of down years to assume close to an even split of Detroit’s catching duties alongside Jake Rogers. Kelly has is hitting .242/.327/.393 with seven home runs over 202 plate appearances, translating to an above-average 106 wRC+.

Despite the importance of the catching position, it is relatively rare to see prominent backstops dealt at the deadline, due in part to all of the added prep work that a catcher must handle behind the scenes.  Since so much of the job is based around handling pitchers and calling games, it can quite difficult for a catcher to join a new team and immediately be tasked with learning the tendencies for an entire new set of hurlers.

This alone complicates Detroit’s efforts to move Kelly, not to mention the fact that a lot of other contenders are relatively set at the catching position.  That said, you never know what teams might emerge with needs — the Red Sox weren’t seemingly in search of catching on paper, yet Boston acquired Danny Jansen from the Blue Jays yesterday.  Kelly is also pretty inexpensive, as has about $1.22MM remaining on his $3.5MM salary for the 2024 season.

In terms of players with extra control, Andrew Chafin and Shelby Miller can each be retained via club options for the 2025 season.  (Chafin’s option is worth $6.5MM with a $500K buyout, while Miller’s option is for $4.25MM with a $250K buyout.)  According to Petzold, the Tigers are leaning towards picking up both options for now, though their plans could change if another team makes a good enough offer for either pitcher by Tuesday’s deadline.

Chafin has more value as a left-handed reliever, plus his numbers are better than Miller’s this season.  Chafin has a 3.25 ERA with an outstanding 29.9% strikeout rate over 36 innings, and while he is still prone to issuing free passes, the veteran’s 9.6% walk rate is still markedly improved over his 12.5% figure from 2023.  Miller is something of the opposite, as he has a strong 5.4% walk rate but his other numbers are a lot rougher — a 4.66 ERA in 36 2/3 frames out of the Tigers’ bullpen.

Sticking with the relief corps, Petzold reports that the Tigers have gotten trade interest in both Jason Foley and Will Vest, but the club is unlikely to move either right-hander.  Foley and Vest are both controlled through 2027 and won’t even reach their first rounds of salary arbitration until this coming offseason, so barring a very compelling offer, Detroit has no reason to consider moving relievers who aim to be part of the bullpen plans for years to come.

Foley in particular has performed well as Detroit’s closer this season, saving 15 of 18 chances and posting a 3.22 ERA in 36 1/3 innings.  If there is a reason for the Tigers to think about selling high, it could be that Foley doesn’t fit the traditional model for a lights-out stopper.  Foley is a grounder specialist with surprisingly low strikeout totals for a pitcher with a 96.9mph fastball, though his slider has been much more effective than his heater this season.

Vest has quietly posted strong numbers for two seasons in a row now, following up his 2.98 ERA in 48 1/3 innings in 2023 with a 3.15 ERA in 45 2/3 frames this year.  Somewhat akin to Foley, Vest also doesn’t miss many bats, but he is very good at limiting hard contact.  Only six percent of Vest’s fly balls have left the yard over the last two seasons, and his 2.9% barrel rate is in the 97th percentile of all pitchers in 2024.

Those obstacles aren’t stopping the Pirates from participating in the shallower end of free agency, however. The club has already inked Rowdy Tellez and brought back Andrew McCutchen to help fill out the lineup, and Kevin Gorman of TribLive relays comments from GM Ben Cherington indicating the club hopes to add at least one more position player to the mix. One player Gorman notes the club has been connected to in the rumor mill is second baseman Adam Frazier, who spent parts of six seasons in Pittsburgh following the club drafting him in the sixth-round of the 2013 draft and promoting him to the majors in 2016.

Since the Pirates traded Frazier to the Padres partway through the 2021 season, Frazier struggled with both San Diego and Seattle before catching on with the Orioles on a one-year deal last offseason. Though Frazier saw his playing time reduced somewhat by the presence of young, up-and-coming players like Jordan Westburg vying for playing time at the keystone, he still got semi-regular playing time in Baltimore. In 455 trips to the plate with the Orioles last season, Frazier slashed .240/.300/.396 with a wRC+ of 93, a considerable upgrade over the 80 wRC+ he posted in Seattle the previous year. While approximately league average offense and rough defense (-15 OAA, -1 DRS) at second base isn’t exactly an impact signing, the addition of Frazier to the Pirates lineup could offer the club a stable, veteran solution at the keystone while not blocking the likes of Nick Gonzalez from taking a step forward and seizing everyday playing time in the majors.

More from around the league’s Central divisions…

• The Twins have faced plenty of uncertainty regarding the future of their TV broadcasting situation this offseason, prompting the club to cut payroll even after the club won its first playoff game since 2004. Some clarity of the specifics of Minnesota’s situation could be on the horizon as we head into the new year, according to Phil Miller of the Star Tribune. Miller reports that the Twins have been in the midst of negotiations with Bally Sports North to televise the club’s games in 2024. Though the previous deal between the sides concluded after the 2023 campaign, Miller indicates that BSN has “strong and sincere interest” in a one-year arrangement with the Twins. If the Twins aren’t able to come together with BSN on a deal for 2024, Miller suggests that the club’s games would likely be distributed by MLB as the league did with the Padres and Diamondbacks in 2023.
• Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris spoke effusively about newly-signed right-hander Shelby Miller after he landed in Detroit on a one-year pact last week. According to Chris McCosky of The Detroit News, Harris was particularly impressed by Miller’s performance with the Dodgers after coming off the injured list last summer. Miller’s final eleven appearances with the club saw him post 12 scoreless innings as he scattered seven hits and one walk while striking out 25.6% of batters faced. Per McCosky, Harris went on to suggest that Miller’s role has yet to be determined. The righty could compete for a spot at “the very back” of the Tigers’ bullpen alongside the likes of Alex Lange and Andrew Chafin or could be used in a multi-inning role. Miller recorded more than three outs in eleven of his thirty-six appearances with the Dodgers last year.

The Tigers, who have recently begun announcing the full terms of their contracts, added that Miller can earn an extra $1.175MM per season via incentives. He’ll receive $100K bonuses for reaching each of 50, 55 and 60 games pitched, plus another $125K for reaching 65 and 70 appearances. If he winds up serving as the closer, there’s even more money to be unlocked. The contract calls for $150K bonuses for 40, 45, 50 and 55 games finished.

The value of the club option can also be boosted by $1.4MM. Those escalators are tied to appearances ($100K for 50, 55 and 60 games pitched; $150K for 65 and 70 games pitched) and games finished ($200K for finishing 40, 45, 50 and 55 games).

8:39am: It’s a one-year contract with a 2025 option, reports Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press. Miller is in Detroit for his physical today, Petzold adds, so the contract should become official soon.

8:26am: The Tigers have agreed to a deal with free agent right-hander Shelby Miller, reports Kiley McDaniel of ESPN. The contract is still pending a physical. Detroit’s 40-man roster is full, so they’ll need to make a corresponding move to accommodate this latest addition. Miller is represented by Excel Sports Management.

Miller, 33, enjoyed a resurgent season with the 2023 Dodgers, pitching to a brilliant 1.71 earned run average in 42 innings over 36 appearances (35 relief outings, one start). He fanned a strong 25.8% of his opponents against a bloated 11.7% walk rate and kept the ball on the ground at a 37.4% clip — a few percentage points below the league average. Miller’s fastball is down about a mile per hour from its peak levels, sitting at a league-average 93.6 mph, but he also brandished a newly implemented splitter in 2023, which flummoxed his opponents.

Prior to the 2023 season, Miller had thrown exactly one splitter in his career — way back in 2014. He threw the pitch 26.2% of the time this past season, however, and batters were largely helpless against it. Miller threw 174 splitters in 2023 and finished off 47 plate appearances with the pitch; opponents posted an awful .136/.191/.250 against the pitch in that sample. Statcast credited the pitch with a .170 “expected” opponents’ batting average and a .274 expected slugging percentage.

That marked Miller’s first successful season since back in 2015. While he’d shown flashes of promise in the interim seven years, injuries and poor performances were far more common for the former top prospect and once-promising young starter. The 19th overall pick by the Cardinals back in 2009, Miller debuted in St. Louis as a 21-year-old, pitched to an outstanding 3.22 ERA over his first 575 1/3 big league frames and was twice traded in blockbuster deals — first going from St. Louis to Atlanta in exchange for Jason Heyward and a year later going to Arizona in the trade that brought Dansby Swanson and Ender Inciarte to the Braves.

Miller struggled immediately with the D-backs and never found his footing before undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2017. At various points, his career looked to be on the brink, but he persevered through considerable struggles and now, in his mid-30s, looks to have found new life as a quality bullpen arm.

The Dodgers didn’t use him in high-leverage spots often last year, but Miller could have a clearer path to setup work in Detroit. Right-handers Alex Lange and Jason Foley are the primary ninth- and eighth-inning options, respectively, and Detroit brought lefty Andrew Chafin back on a one-year deal as a left-handed setup option as well. But Miller has a good bit more experience than the bulk of the Tigers’ relievers and could find himself in more tight, late-inning spots this season.

Miller becomes the latest addition in what’s been a nice offseason of veteran pickups for the Tigers. Detroit has added righty Kenta Maeda (two years, $24MM) to help stabilize a young pitching staff and also bought low on former Cardinals ace Jack Flaherty (one year, $14MM), who’ll look to return to his prior heights in a new setting. The Tigers kicked off the winter by acquiring Mark Canha from the Brewers and picking up his 2024 option; he’ll join the team’s outfield and DH mix this coming season. Chafin, as previously noted, is returning to Comerica Park, where he excelled in 2022 before struggling with Arizona and Milwaukee in 2023. He and Miller have the potential to meaningfully fortify the Detroit relief corps.

There’s still room for some further additions, be they in the bullpen, on the bench or perhaps around the infield, where Detroit still lacks some certainty at multiple positions. Some of those could come from the trade market rather than free agency, although president of baseball operations Scott Harris indicated this week that he doesn’t envision trading from his newly deepened rotation mix. Wherever further reinforcements come from, the Tigers’ 2024 outlook is already brighter than the 2023 group. It’s a deepened roster that, with some continued development from young players like Spencer Torkelson, Riley Greene, Kerry Carpenter and prospects like Colt Keith and Justyn-Henry Malloy, could emerge as a viable contender in a weak American League Central division.

Wong joined the organization on a minor league pact a couple weeks ago. He didn’t spend much time in Triple-A. Wong played in just three games, collecting seven hits and a walk in 14 trips to the plate.

Before joining L.A., the veteran infielder had been struggling through the worst season of his career. Wong hit only .165/.241/.227 over 67 games with the Mariners. He struck out at a personal-high 21.3% clip and made hard contact on only around a quarter of batted balls — well below the 36% MLB average.

That offensive output would’ve been untenable even if Wong were continuing to defend at an elite level. Yet the two-time Gold Glove winner received slightly below-average grades from metrics like Defensive Runs Saved and Outs Above Average over 513 1/3 innings. It was his second straight season with middling marks for his glovework, as Wong also played below his established level during his final year with Milwaukee.

While Wong’s glove has slipped as he’s gotten into his 30s, he was a productive hitter as recently as a year ago. The lefty-swinging infielder put up a .251/.339/.430 slash with 15 homers and 17 steals in 497 trips to the dish for the Brew Crew. The Dodgers will hope for something more closely approximating that form than his early-season work in Seattle.

Mookie Betts has played second base for the Dodgers lately. Wong can sometimes factor in when there’s a need for Betts to move back to the outfield. The Dodgers have Amed Rosario, Enrique Hernández and Chris Taylor as middle infield options off the bench, though that entire group hits from the right side.

There’s no financial risk for L.A. in bringing Wong up. The Mariners are on the hook for virtually all of his $10MM salary. The Dodgers will pay him just the prorated portion of the $720K league minimum for whatever time he spends on the MLB roster. He’ll be a free agent at year’s end.

While there’s no need for an active roster move, Los Angeles will need to make a corresponding 40-man transaction when Wong is officially promoted. The club filled the 40-man this afternoon by reinstating Shelby Miller from the 60-day injured list. The veteran righty has been out since late June because of a nerve issue in his neck. Miller has turned in 30 innings of 2.40 ERA ball out of Dave Roberts’ bullpen.

Grove missed about six weeks earlier this season due to a groin strain, and he has been up and down from Triple-A a few times this season.  Working mostly as a traditional starter but also getting some work as a reliever and as a bulk pitcher, Grove has tossed 64 innings over 15 appearances this season, helping out a Dodgers team that has been hit hard by pitching injuries.  Unfortunately for Grove and the Dodgers, his results haven’t been great, as he has a 6.61 ERA and has allowed a lot of hard contact.

The ERA doesn’t tell the whole story, as Grove’s 3.96 SIERA indicates some bad luck for the 26-year-old.  Grove’s 6.3% walk rate is well above league average and his 23.5% strikeout rate is around mid-range.  While batters are getting good wood on Grove’s offerings, he is also seeing an unusual amount of those balls in play fall for hits, as Grove has a hefty .378 BABIP.

Grove becomes the 11th pitcher on Los Angeles’ current injured list, with various hurlers still sidelined by both short-term or longer-term or season-ending injuries.  Despite pitching depth being a problem for much of the season, the Dodgers are still atop the NL West, holding a three-game lead on the Giants entering Sunday’s play.  Lance Lynn was acquired at the trade deadline to provide some rotation help, while Clayton Kershaw is expected to return from his own IL stint at some point this week.  Roberts also said that Shelby Miller (on the 60-day IL) has recovered from a nerve issue and has started a rehab assignment in the Arizona Complex League, with hopes of returning to the Dodgers before the season is over.

Taylor returns a little less than a month after going on the injured list with a bone bruise in his knee. The utilityman and the newly-signed Marisnick add some right-handed depth to the MLB bench. Taylor is hitting .206/.275/.455 with 11 home runs over 59 games.

Miller’s IL transfer is perhaps the more significant of today’s transactions. The veteran right-hander has been on the 15-day IL since June 21 because of neck pain. Today’s move ensures he won’t return before the third week of August. Skipper Dave Roberts told the club’s beat they do expect Miller to be back this season, though it now won’t be for at least another five weeks (relayed by Juan Toribio of MLB.com).

Los Angeles signed Miller to a somewhat surprising $1.5MM major league contract in December. He has had solid results, pitching to a 2.40 ERA across 30 innings — his heaviest MLB workload in four seasons. Miller has walked 15% of opponents but struck out batters at an above-average 25.8% clip. He’ll return to free agency at year’s end.

Kolarek signed a minors contract with Los Angeles back in December, and his contract was selected to the active roster earlier this week.  While a brief stint in the majors, Kolarek did at least appear in one game, tossing 1 1/3 scoreless innings during the Dodgers’ 7-3 loss to the Phillies on June 11.

That made it seven MLB seasons for Kolarek, and his second stint in Dodger Blue could be coming to an end.  The southpaw previously pitched for L.A. during the 2019-20 seasons, posting an eye-popping 0.84 ERA over 32 total innings over the two seasons and earning a World Series ring for his part in the Dodgers’ 2020 championship run.

Traded to the A’s in February 2021, the last two seasons have been a lot rockier for Kolarek, who had a 5.74 ERA over 26 2/3 total innings in Oakland.  Kolarek elected free agency following the season, and since he has been outrighted before in his career, he can elect free agency again if he clears DFA waivers and if the Dodgers try to outright him to Triple-A.  That said, after being shuttled up and down between the majors and minors so many times in his career, Kolarek might prefer to accept an outright assignment and remain in a familiar organization rather than test the open market again.

December 1: Jon Heyman of The New York Post reports that the incentives are worth $100K.

November 29: The Dodgers are in agreement with free agent reliever Shelby Miller on a major league contract. The deal, which is pending a physical, reportedly comes with a $1.5MM base salary and additional performance bonuses.

Miller will step right onto the 40-man roster despite not having had much recent MLB experience. He’s made just 17 appearances at the game’s highest level over the last three years. That includes four late-season appearances with the Giants in 2022. Selected onto the big league roster for the season’s final two weeks, he was called upon four times in San Francisco.

The right-hander allowed five runs in seven innings for the Giants, but he struck out 14 while walking just three. That came in spite of a lackluster 8.4% swinging strike rate, but Miller excelled at freezing batters on pitches inside the strike zone. Opponents offered at just over half the would-be strikes he threw, well shy of the 68.8% league average for relievers.

He’s almost certainly not going to maintain that pace over a full season, but he flashed some ability to keep MLB hitters off balance with a pared-down repertoire. Miller featured only two pitches — a low-80s slider and a four-seam that averaged a bit above 94 MPH — during this year’s MLB action. He also found a fair bit of success in the upper minors, striking out an excellent 32.4% of opponents en route to a 3.62 ERA across 32 1/3 frames with the Giants’ top affiliate in Sacramento.

That was enough to intrigue multiple teams. Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reported last week the 32-year-old had major league offers on the table from two clubs. The Giants weren’t one of them, at least at that time, preferring to give him a Spring Training invitation to compete for a roster spot. Miller won’t have to do so in L.A., as he’ll receive a guaranteed salary and presumably be penciled directly into the big league bullpen. As a player with more than five years of MLB service time, he’ll have to remain in the majors or be designated for assignment. The Dodgers wouldn’t have offered an MLB deal if they didn’t anticipate he’d make the Opening Day roster.

While Miller’s brief MLB work and Triple-A numbers from this past season make him an interesting depth flier, he’s far from a sure thing to cement himself in the middle innings mix for skipper Dave Roberts. Miller has appeared at the MLB level in 10 of the past 11 years — only missing the shortened 2020 campaign — but he’s not found sustained success since 2015. One of the sport’s better young starters during his early days with the Cardinals and Braves, Miller saw his career go off track after the infamous deal that sent him to Arizona and landed Dansby Swanson and Ender Inciarte in Atlanta.

After posting a 6.05 ERA in 20 starts during his debut season with the D-Backs, he lost most of the 2017-18 campaigns rehabbing from Tommy John surgery. He was tattooed for an 8.59 ERA with nearly as many walks as strikeouts in 44 frames for the Rangers in 2019, and it was a similar story during an abbreviated look with the Cubs and Pirates in 2021. All told, he owns a 7.02 ERA in 65 appearances with five teams since the end of the 2015 season. He’s worked almost exclusively in relief for two consecutive years.

Los Angeles relievers posted a 2.87 ERA this past season, the second-lowest mark in the majors. Their 26.7% strikeout rate placed fourth, with Evan Phillips and Yency Almonte breaking out alongside the more established Alex Vesia and Brusdar Graterol as late-inning arms. The Dodgers are also welcoming back Daniel Hudson from a season-ending ACL injury, giving them a decent number of high-upside relief options.

With the potential free agent departures of Craig Kimbrel, Tommy Kahnle and Chris Martin and the likelihood of a lost season for Blake Treinen, L.A. figures to continue trying to stockpile middle innings depth. Even factoring in Miller’s modest salary, Los Angeles has a bit under $153MM in estimated payroll commitments for next season. Finalizing their agreement with Clayton Kershaw is expected to tack on around $20MM to that mark, but there’s still plenty of room for bigger splashes at shortstop and in the starting rotation.

Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic first reported the Dodgers and Miller were in agreement on a big league contract. Kiley McDaniel of ESPN was first to report it contained a $1.5MM base salary with performance bonuses.

At first glance, it might seem strange that Miller is so popular since he hasn’t really been an effective major leaguer since 2015. Once one of most highly-touted prospects in the game, Miller seemed to be cementing himself as a big league starter with the Cardinals from 2012 to 2014. He went to Atlanta in the Jason Heyward trade and had another strong season in 2015. However, after getting traded to the Diamondbacks for three players, including Dansby Swanson, things went south for him. He posted a 6.15 ERA with the Snakes in 2016 and then only logged 38 combined innings over the next two seasons due to injuries.

Since then, Miller has gradually moved into more relief work, with very impressive results in the minors. In 2021, he pitched in Triple-A while in the system of both the Cubs and the Pirates, throwing 24 1/3 innings with a 2.96 ERA, 37.8% strikeout rate and 9.2% walk rate. He got brief looks in the majors with both clubs but struggled to a 9.24 ERA in 13 games.

In 2022, Miller started the year on a minor league deal with the Yankees but eventually opted out and signed with the Giants on another minors pact. Between the two orgs, he tossed 53 1/3 innings with a 2.87 ERA, 31.2% strikeout rate and 9.5% walk rate. The Giants selected him to the big league roster late in the season and put him into four games, though Miller put up a 6.43 ERA in that brief showing.

Despite that lack of recent MLB success, it stands to reason that clubs would be interested. Miller’s racked up huge strikeout numbers in Triple-A for two straight years and could be a useful bullpen piece for whoever figures out how to bring those up to the majors. The free agent market for relievers has been quite strong so far this offseason, with Edwin Diaz getting $102MM over five years, Robert Suarez getting $46MM over five years and Rafael Montero getting $34.5MM over three.

Given those robust contracts, it stands to reason that some clubs would look to take fliers on arms that can be had for cheaper. Miller is now 32 years old and has a spotty track record that will prevent him from getting paid at those levels. However, the market conditions seem to be working in his favor and will at least get him a shot in the show with someone. It’s unclear which teams have extended offers to him, but Miller would perhaps be best suited to join a rebuilding club. They would be more likely to have space in their bullpen to take a chance on him and could then look to trade him at the deadline if the gamble paid off.

12:21pm: The Giants are selecting the contract of veteran right-hander Shelby Miller from Triple-A Sacramento prior to Thursday’s game against the Rockies. Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle tweeted earlier that Miller was in the clubhouse, and Andrew Baggarly of The Athletic now adds that Miller has been informed he’ll be active for today’s game (and not simply on the taxi squad). The Giants designated outfielder Lewis Brinson for assignment yesterday, so they already have an open spot on the 40-man. Slusser adds that righty Cole Waites looks to have been optioned to Sacramento to open a spot for Miller on the active roster.

San Francisco will be the seventh Major League team for Miller, once one of the game’s brightest young arms but now a journeyman who’s found himself closing games for the Giants’ top minor league affiliate in 2022. Still just 31 years old, Miller opened the year with the Yankees’ Triple-A club but opted out of that deal early in the season and signed with the Giants in June. He’s logged a combined 2.87 ERA between the two Triple-A clubs this season, punching out 31.2% of his opponents against a 9.5% walk rate. He’s also picked up a dozen saves (eight with the Giants organization) and five holds out of the bullpen this year.

A former first-round pick who was regarded as one of the sport’s premier pitching prospects, Miller debuted with the Cardinals as a 21-year-old in 2012 and spent the two subsequent seasons as a mainstay in the St. Louis rotation. The Cards parted with Miller in a trade that sent then-star outfielder Jason Heyward from Atlanta to St. Louis, and Miller made the All-Star team in his lone season as a Brave (despite an MLB-worst 17 losses, which were the result of a dismal team surrounding him).

Despite Miller’s sterling 3.02 ERA in his first season with the Braves, Atlanta couldn’t resist when the D-backs offered up Dansby Swanson, Ender Inciarte and then-top pitching prospect Aaron Blair in return for Miller — just six months after Swanson had been drafted with the No. 1 overall pick. It’s gone down as one of the most lopsided swaps in recent memory, as Swanson has blossomed from steady everyday shortstop into one of the NL’s top all-around players in 2022. Inciarte, meanwhile, had several seasons as a strong everyday center fielder in Atlanta.

Miller, meanwhile, struggled immediately with Arizona and wound up limping through a trio of injury-plagued seasons in Phoenix. He’s since pitched in the Majors with the Rangers (2019), Cubs (2021) and Pirates (2021), but Miller has just a 7.04 ERA in 195 2/3 frames since being traded by the Braves nearly seven years ago.

There’s little denying, however, that he’s been impressive in a bullpen role with the top affiliates for the Yankees and Giants in 2022. Whether that leads to an eventual early-30s renaissance for Miller remains to be seen, but this is the healthiest and most effective he’s been in years. And with his 32nd birthday not yet having taken place, there’s still plenty of time for the once-vaunted righty to be reborn as a quality big league reliever. Both Miller and the Giants surely hope that today’s promotion can be the first step toward just such an outcome. He’ll be a free agent at season’s end, and a strong couple weeks to close out the season could make him an interesting, low-cost target for clubs over the winter.

Miller had opened the season in the Yankees’ organization on a non-roster deal. According to his transactions log at MLB.com, he was released on May 31. The right-hander was one of a host of veterans afforded an automatic June 1 opt-out possibility by the collective bargaining agreement. Whether he triggered that provision or was simply let go by the Yankees isn’t clear, but in either event, he’s quickly landed a new opportunity.

A high-end starting pitcher during his early days with the Cardinals and Braves, Miller has had some highly-publicized struggles since the D-Backs parted with Dansby Swanson and Ender Inciarte to acquire him before the 2016 season. He didn’t perform well during his first season in the desert, and he missed most of the 2017-18 season recovering from Tommy John surgery. Miller was hit hard in a swing role with the Rangers in 2019, then opted out of the 2020 campaign. He returned to the big leagues with the Cubs and Pirates last year but was tagged for a 9.24 ERA with more walks than strikeouts in 12 2/3 combined innings.

Now 31 years old, Miller is having a nice year in the minors. He pitched in 16 games with the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, logging 21 innings with a 1.71 ERA. His .231 BABIP indicates there’s some good fortune there, but he’s also earning it to some degree with a 29.4% strikeout rate and 7.1% walk rate. Since switching organizations, he’s made one scoreless appearance for the Sacramento River Cats.

He’ll provide depth for a Giants’ bullpen that has been a bit disappointing so far this year. Their collective 4.41 ERA places them 24th among MLB teams, though advanced metrics are a bit kinder, as they have a 3.77 FIP, 4.08 xFIP and 3.79 SIERA.

As the MLBPA announced at the onset of the most recent offseason, there were 188 players who became Article XX(B) free agents. The majority of those players signed Major League contracts. A handful retired, and some have yet to sign a contract at all. There were still more than two dozen players who signed minor league contracts, however, which makes them subject to the new uniform opt-out dates. Several of those players — Marwin Gonzalez, Matt Moore and Wily Peralta, to name a few — have already had their contracts selected to the Major League roster. Others signed their minor league deal after March 28, meaning they’re not covered under the uniform opt-out provision.

By my count, there are a dozen players who qualified as Article XX(B) free agents, signed minor league deals on or before March 28, and remain with those organizations but not on the 40-man roster. Each of the following veterans, then, will have the opportunity to become a free agent Sunday if they’re not called up to the current organization’s big league roster:

• Tyler Clippard, RHP, Nationals: The 37-year-old Clippard had a strong 2019 season in Cleveland and pitched brilliantly with Minnesota in 2020. His 2021 campaign with the D-backs was solid but truncated by a strained capsule in his right shoulder. He missed nearly four months to begin the year but pitched to a 3.20 ERA in 25 1/3 innings upon activation — albeit with subpar strikeout and walk rates (19.8% and 9.9%, respectively). He’s had a rough go in Triple-A Rochester so far, yielding seven runs on six hits and a whopping 11 walks in 8 1/3 innings. He’s also picked up a dozen strikeouts.
• Austin Romine, C, Angels: Romine is 2-for-15 with a pair of singles so far in Triple-A Salt Lake. He’s never provided much with the bat, but the longtime Yankees backup is regarded as a quality defender and receiver. He spent the 2021 season with the Cubs but only logged 62 plate appearances thanks to a sprained left wrist that landed him on the 60-day injured list for a significant portion of the season. Romine hit .217/.242/.300 when healthy last year and is a lifetime .238/.277/.358 hitter in 1313 Major League plate appearances.
• Billy Hamilton, CF, Mariners: At 31 years old, the former top prospect is what he is now: an elite defender and baserunner who’s never been able to get on base consistently enough to capitalize on his 80-grade speed. Hamilton slashed .220/.242/.378 in 135 plate appearances with the White Sox last season and is out to a 7-for-32 start with one walk and 11 strikeouts so far with the Mariners’ top affiliate. Hamilton has four seasons of 55-plus stolen bases under his belt, but he also has a career .293 OBP  that’s gotten even worse (.269) over the past three seasons (524 plaste appearances).
• Blake Parker, RHP, Cardinals: Parker, 36, has yielded three runs in 7 1/3 Triple-A frames but is brandishing a far more impressive 11-to-1 K/BB ratio. He split the past two seasons between Philadelphia and Cleveland, pitching to a combined 3.02 ERA with a 24.4% strikeout rate against a 9.1% walk rate. Parker has had an up-and-down career since debuting with the Cubs as a 27-year-old rookie in 2012, but the cumulative results are solid. He carries a career 3.47 ERA with 34 saves and 47 holds. When Parker’s splitter is working well, he can be a very effective late-inning option.
• Derek Holland, LHP, Red Sox: The veteran southpaw has provided innings, but not necessarily at quality since transitioning into a bullpen role in 2019. Last season he appeared in 39 games for the Tigers, tossing 49 2/3 innings with a 5.07 ERA/3.96 FIP. Holland’s time with Triple-A Worcester hasn’t been smooth, as he has a 5.79 ERA and six walks over 9 1/3 innings.
• Steven Souza Jr., OF, Mariners: Due to an ugly knee injury and some struggles at the plate, Souza hasn’t been a truly productive big leaguer since 2017. Looking to revive his career with the Mariners, Souza has hit .200/.383/.333 over 60 PA with Triple-A Tacoma.
• Kevin Pillar, OF, Dodgers: This season marks Pillar’s first taste of Triple-A ball since 2014, and the veteran outfielder is overmatching pitchers to the tune of a .313/.415/.627 slash line over 82 plate appearances. One would imagine this performance will earn Pillar a look in Los Angeles or perhaps another team if the Dodgers don’t select his contract. Pillar’s minor league deal guarantees him a $2.5MM salary if he receives a big league call-up, which could be a factor for a Dodgers club that may be trying to stay under the third tier ($270MM) of the luxury tax threshold.
• Cam Bedrosian, RHP, Phillies: After signing a minor league deal with Philadelphia last July, Bedrosian posted a 4.35 ERA over 10 1/3 innings with the club despite recording almost as many walks (seven) as strikeouts (eight). The righty inked a new minors deal with the Phillies over the winter but has yet to pitch this season due to injury.
• Shelby Miller, RHP, Yankees: The former All-Star pitched well with the Cubs’ and Pirates’ Triple-A affiliates in 2021, and he has kept up that strong Triple-A performance now working as a full-time reliever.  Over eight innings for Scranton/Wilkes-Barres, Miller has a 2.25 ERA with outstanding strikeout (31.3%) and walk (3.1%) rates. He also hasn’t allowed any homers, a notable stat for a pitcher who has had great trouble containing the long ball over the last few seasons.
• Matt Carpenter, INF, Rangers: Carpenter got a late start to Spring Training, and upon Opening Day, he expressed a desire to take the necessary time to get himself up to speed. Through 52 plate appearances in Triple-A, Carpenter has slashed an improved .239/.327/.457 with a pair of home runs. While not standout numbers, they are an improvement over the .203/.235/.346 slash line Carpenter posted in 901 PA from 2019-21 with the Cardinals.
• Carlos Martinez, RHP, Giants: Another former Cardinal looking for a fresh start, Martinez has yet to pitch for Triple-A Sacramento, as he is still rehabbing from the thumb surgery he underwent last July. With injuries and a nasty bout of COVID-19 factoring into matters, Martinez has only a 6.95 ERA over 102 1/3 big league innings since the start of the 2020 season.
• Keone Kela, RHP, Diamondbacks: Kela has also been ravaged by injuries over the last two seasons, including Tommy John surgery last May. Given the usual TJ recovery timeline, Kela isn’t likely to be a factor for the D’Backs until at least midseason.

Of course, players remain free to negotiate additional out clauses into their minor league contracts. Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports, for instance, that lefty Adam Morgan has an opt-out provision in his contract with the Astros today. Morgan doesn’t have enough service time to qualify as an Article XX(B) free agent, but he’ll nevertheless have the opportunity to become a free agent Sunday if he doesn’t like his chances of eventually being added to Houston’s roster.

Still only 31 years old, Miller is best known for his time with the Cardinals and Braves, when he posted a 3.22 ERA over 575 1/3 innings from 2012-15.  With a third-place finish in NL Rookie Of The Year voting and an All-Star appearance in 2015, Miller looked like one of baseball’s burgeoning young pitching stars, but he simply was never the same after being dealt to the Diamondbacks in a now-infamous trade for Arizona fans.

Miller struggled in 2016 in part due to a finger injury, and then pitched only 38 more innings during his D’Backs tenure due to Tommy John surgery.  Since then, Miller has bounced around to four different teams trying to revive his career, most recently pitching for the Cubs and Pirates in 2021.  The righty had a combined 9.24 ERA over 12 2/3 big league innings last season, but at least his Triple-A statistics (2.96 ERA, 37.75% strikeout rate over 24 1/3 IP) provided some cause for optimism.

While Miller technically made four Triple-A starts last year, they were more of the abbreviated variety, and he seems to be more or less a full-time relief pitcher at this point in his career.  New York will be the latest team to try and get Miller on track, and he would hardly be the first ex-starter to find a second act as a viable reliever.  At the cost of a minor league deal, there’s no risk for the Yankees in seeing what Miller has in camp, and perhaps stashing him at Triple-A should he accept the assignment.  Given the relatively short time between now and Opening Day, it doesn’t seem like Miller has a shot at breaking camp with the team.