Before the Cincinnati Reds Hot Stove League show tonight on 700 WLW, Cincinnati Reds General Manager Nick Krall and newly signed left-handed starting pitcher Wade Miley took questions from the local press. You can watch/listen below.
Original article below:
As with nearly every move made in sports, there are going to be varying opinions on said move. Today the Cincinnati Reds made it official, announcing the signing of left-handed pitcher Wade Miley to a 2-year deal worth $15M (which includes the $1M buyout for his option year in 2022 if the team declines). We’ll have some opinions from the Redleg Nation staff on the move later this week, but for today we are going to look at what some of the media around the country is saying about the move. Be sure to go read each piece in full, as they all have far more information than what is shared here and the move and how Miley could help the team.
Beyond The Box Score
Kenny Kelly wrote earlier today that Wade Miley gives the Cincinnati Reds the best rotation in the National League Central.
With the Astros, Miley threw 167 1?3 acceptable innings. Though every ERA estimator suggested he was worse than his 3.98 ERA, they still have him pegged as a roughly league average pitcher. He’s a fitting addition for an already strong Reds rotation that features Sonny Gray and Luis Castillo at the top with Trevor Bauer and Anthony DeSclafani in the middle.
Wade Miley is not the sort of signing that puts a team over the top, but it’s a reminder that the Reds are closer to a division title than their 75-87 record would indicate. Baseball Prospectus’s third-order winning percentage, which is based on the team’s underlying performance and adjusts for the quality of their opponents, had the Reds in a virtual tie with the Brewers at 86 wins and two games behind the Cubs and a surmountable five games behind the Cardinals.
Ken Rosenthal at The Athletic
Also published earlier this afternoon, Ken Rosenthal takes a look at Wade Miley and what exactly happened to him last season with the Houston Astros. On August 30th he had a 3.06 ERA in 156.0 innings with 54 walks and 134 strikeouts. Hitters had a .677 OPS against him. And then September happened. In three of his five starts he didn’t record more than three outs. In two of them he didn’t record more than ONE out. Hitters posted a 1.205 OPS against him in those five starts and his ERA was 16.68 as he allowed 21 runs over 11.1 innings with seven walks and just six strikeouts.
Check your glove.
Miley, 33, thought he had checked everything. He maintained to reporters several times in September he was not tipping pitches. But it turned out that was exactly his problem.
Fangraphs
Jake Mailhot, who I assume is from the Hotmail dot com family tree, wrote about the re-unification of Wade Miley and Derek Johnson in Cincinnati.
Adding Miley wasn’t a huge boost to their projected WAR but he does provide some needed consistency. He effectively bumps Tyler Mahle — a league average starter in his own right — from the rotation, but Miley has a long track record of durability. He’s surpassed 150 innings pitched in seven of his eight full seasons in the majors with the only exception being his year in Milwaukee where he dealt with a couple of non-throwing arm injuries. Reuniting with Johnson gives Miley the best chance of maximizing his ceiling while he continues to hone his repertoire in the later stages of his career.
C. Trent Rosecrans at The Athletic
As would be expected, Trent was quickly on top of things over at The Athletic. Several days ago he chimed in on what the move means, or at least could mean for the Cincinnati Reds.
It wasn’t that long ago — just about three years — that Scott Feldman was the Reds’ Opening Day starter. A year later, Homer Bailey started the first game and Tyler Mahle, a rookie with four big-league starts under his belt, started the team’s fourth game of the season.
With the addition of lefty Wade Miley, Mahle appears on the outside of the 2020 rotation, a sign of just how far the team has come in building its rotation over the past two seasons.
The Overall Reaction
No one seems to believe that this is a true game changing type of move. But for the price paid, that shouldn’t be expected. What it does seem though is that everyone seems to believe this move makes the Cincinnati Reds better. Between being an upgrade to the rotation, it also gives the team depth to work with, too.
Good move, needed a lefty. Not first on the list, but on the list.
I really like the move. If he runs out of gas is Sept, so be it.
We still need upgrades at SS and C (most important).
We also need a left handed RF to platoon with AA.
I think CF will be ok, with Nick.
There’s not really good catcher upgrade options, I don’t want to sacrifice defense for a catcher because I think Barnhart and Casali handle the staff super super well. Only someone like grandal or realmuto really made sense because they offered upgrades on both sides of the ball. I’m comfortable with Barnhart and Casali especially if they upgrade other places. Also important to note is that after his injury Barnhart was a lot better of a hitter, and limiting his plate appearances to mostly lefties is fine.
Your left handed RF is already on the team. They need to decide between Dickerson, Castellanos and Ozuna for left.
Mlb network uncovered the fact he was tipping his pitches in September which an ex team mate told him. Back out a awful September and he was 3rd in Era
Sooooooo … Miley’s bad September was due to tipping his pitches and not fatigue or injury? Does that mean the Reds are getting the pitcher who won 14 games with a 3.06 ERA for five months of the season? If that’s so, this could be another Sonny Gray-like acquisition and should not be diminished in importance.
He also bears resemblance to Tanner Roark in that Miley averaged 5.07 innings per start last year. Certainly the bad September brought that average down. Miley averaged 2.26 innings per start in five September starts.
I like it a lot. Miley is a nice complement to the staff, and a much need left handed starter.
Speaking of Lefties, who makes their big league debut first Lodolo or Naughton. I think both have an outside chance on being on the club by seasons end.
I was hoping to never hear the name Scott Feldman again. Then you remind me he was our opening day starter. I cant believe that was only 3 years ago.
Aside from Opening Day, the list is hilariously long – Adelman, Davis, Sampson, Stephens, McGuire, Moscot, Wright, Melville, Lamb and on and on.
This is a fine move, always filling for injuries, keep the flamethrowers in the pen, and a LHer. Also keep Mahle on track as a starter for another year, even with fewer IPs.
Also agree with the comment above about keeping the C intact, and as the 8th place in the order. Stephenson is coming along there, and Tucker/Casali should be average enough.
To go far this year, get the SS. To go farther, get another OF bat. As is, they’re looking to fight for a wild card at worst.
First time in 5-6 years they don’t have several AAAA players on the 25-man.
very good analysis Silostar. Shows that the 5th starter position shouldn’t just be “throw-away” starts. To make the playoffs, those 30 starts matter and should be manned by a competent starter. I’ve seen very little in Mahle that makes me feel he should be given the 5th starter position. Bell may have a quick hook but don’t give up 3-4 runs in 4 innings and you might not get pulled.
I’d like to see us land an outfielder but I’m also ok with this offense. I think its more important to land a couple relief pitchers because those guys almost always have an inconsistent year after a good year.
So far this off season is okay, but isn’t living up to the hype or potential the Reds had. While Miley and Moustakas help solidify the team they aren’t enough to guarantee a playoff run.
I believe that most of us have watched as most of the players that we really coveted were quickly picked up with a few players going for decent prices (Didi 14 mil/1 year) or traded for crumbs (Kluber) and are now thinking “WTH”.
With the potential to add 40-50 million in payroll I was expecting the Reds to pick up an elite piece or two, not middle of the field players.
Didi was only top free agent that got less than projected and at end of day reds passed on him; they and anyone else in the league could have had Kluber but everyone passed. Maybe it’s bc they are on as good as u think they are ?
Even if you were correct the Reds still haven’t done enough up to this point to put the team in a better position to make the playoffs. The Reds should have been more aggressive with the FA market and they had the money and stated that they planned to spend that money improving the team.
My opinion is that Reds have hesitated and might be left in the dust.
Mom and dad: “we have a lot of cash for Christmas gifts this year kids, were definitely getting you some nice toys this year!”
Kids: “awesome a Nintendo Switch, Beats and maybe a DJI Mavic Pro!”
Mom and Dad: “Well the Nintendo’s sold out, we decided to skip the Mavic Pro and forgot about the Beats but we scored some beanie babies, three cardboard boxes and a jump rope!”
Kids: “we want to be put up for adoption.”
I am with others as far as the catcher situation, no need to get another catcher if there is not decent upgrade. But we do need to upgrade the offense at shortstop. If we don’t, then the end of our lineup is a big hole.
I think he is going to perform similarly to Bronson Arroyo. There will be 2/3 of the time he provides a quality 6 or 7 there will be others where he will not get out of the first or second. In his biography Tommy John said a #5 starter is very successful if he can go 10-10 meaning 1 thru 4 are all above .500. I think Miley fits that bill to a tee.
2020
Bauer
Castillo
Gray
Disco
Miley
21
Castillo
Gray
Miley
Lodolo
??
2022
Castillo
Lodolo
Greene
Gray
??
Disco was 4/5 less homers away from a fantastic season last year. Is he enough to solidify the rotation in 21 and 22? Either way reds gotta be thinking team friendly extension….
Adding Miley sure doesn’t hurt, but Mahle is still young and unless traded, is still a good prospect. Team still needs to add at least one more hitter to be significantly better than last year. I still don’t look at them as the division favorite.
Boy, it seems like some people need to consider things.
For instance, some are talking about the “signing that puts us over the top”. When I hear that, I think people are looking for the next Big Red Machine of the 70’s. That will not happen anymore. Besides, no “one player” is going to put a 4th place team over the top.
Is Moose an MVP player? No. But, does he make this team better? Yes.
Is Miley a Cy Young pitcher? No. But, does he make this team better? Yes. A left handed starter, a groundball pitcher, reunited with who many believe resurrected Miley’s career (pitching coach DJ), better than Mahle, I like it. It makes us better.
But, something else that few have talked about. Moose won a WS with KC. Miley was with the Astros last year, apparently playing a key piece in their season. These two guys have experienced “winning”.
But, our team lost a lot of close games last season, typical of a young team who “doesn’t know how”. These guys could possibly, hopefully, be guys who can press for the players to step it up. I’m referring to the veteran presence all young teams need.
Frankly, I like what I’ve seen so far from the FO.
Something else I haven’t heard anything about in any of these discussions, what about JVM? I literally haven’t heard his name associated with anything, and he was the first bat called up last season from AAA, even before AA. Is JVM even still on this team?
All true, and even before JVM, when is that last time you heard a mention of A Blandino? Excellent OBP, quality 5th infielder, apparently excellent teammate/fundamental ballplayer.
Sure, they’re an all-star short of a confident playoff bid, but the work done so far should easily have them looking at a wild-card into September.
Still need an OF bat in case AA flames out, and a premium SS, but the pitching is deep, and that’s before any discussion of Wood returning, or Reed, Sims, or a AAA pitcher forcing a call up.
Entirely agree on Blandino. If he comes into ST with that OBP, I believe he may force some decisions.
Wheeler would have been the one that would have made me issue a big “Hell Yeah”.
Signing Miley does not make the Reds any better….maybe. Take away that stretch in 2018 and he has not been very good. But he will help the steam if the injury bug bites again.
IF bell does the r/, stats say everyone does better and stays rested and ready.