Well, this took fans by surprise. The Cubs have added 34-year-old starting pitcher Wade Miley from the Reds, picking him up off waivers on Friday.
Miley, who spent the past two years with Cincinnati, had a team option with the Reds for 2022, but the Reds are slashing payroll this offseason and the Cubs jumped on the opportunity to add to their starting rotation.
The #Cubs today claimed LHP Wade Miley off waivers from the Reds. pic.twitter.com/nTOI0TKCP1
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) November 5, 2021
So, this essentially works out as a one-year deal worth $10 million for Miley.
#Reds had a $10M club option with Wade Miley for next season. They passed on it and watched a division rival take it instead. Reds focused on scaling back payroll.
— Bobby Nightengale (@nightengalejr) November 5, 2021
Again, it’s important to point out that the Cubs didn’t have to give anything to the Reds for Miley. All they’re responsible for is his salary in 2022.
The veteran left-hander was good last season, finishing the year with solid numbers across the board.
Wade Miley, no matter what numbers you use, was really good this year. 12-7. 3.37 ERA. 6 bWAR. 2.9 fWAR. 3.97 FIP. 4.07 xFIP. That's worth more than $10 million
— C. Trent Rosecrans (@ctrent) November 5, 2021
It’s no secret that pitching is the Cubs’ number one priority this offseason and this seems like a very good first step in addressing the need.
In his career, Miley has made 277 starts, first breaking into the big leagues with the Diamondbacks in 2011. After 2014, Miley moved on to the Red Sox one season, then split 2016 with the Mariners in Orioles. The lefty had a down season in Baltimore in 2017, but was successful with the Brewers in 2018, recording a 2.57 ERA in 18 starts. The Astros then picked up Miley for 2019, and he was good again, posting a 3.98 ERA in 167.1 innings.
Miley only pitched 14.1 innings in the shortened 2020 season before rebounding with a good season in 2021.
It’s difficult to project Miley to repeat his 2021 performance, but at the very least Cubs fans should feel optimistic about the team spending money again. Realistically, Miley is your team’s fourth or fifth starter and the Cubs just went out there and spent $10 million on him. This goes completely against recent trends during the offseason, when the Cubs were the ones trying to save every penny they could by getting rid of useful players just because they were guaranteed short-term money.
With the addition of Miley the Cubs’ starting rotation is now comprised of Kyle Hendricks, Miley, Alec Mills, Justin Steele, Adbert Alzolay, with guys like Keegan Thompson, Adrian Sampson and Cory Abbott as depth.
While acquiring Miley is a good step in trying to sure up the rotation, the Cubs still have a lot of work to do to improve the pitching staff that struggled all year long in 2021.
But again, this move could signal even bigger deals for the Cubs this offseason and might be why they are being linked to some of the top free agents.
We’ll obviously revisit the Miley deal when the offseason is over and see if it truly was the start of a huge offseason for the Cubs.
