7:30pm: Stewart discussed the Miley rumors with reporters, including MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert (Twitter links). Arizona did indeed talk to the Red Sox, Rangers and Marlins about a possible deal, though none of the teams offered what the D’Backs wanted in return. Nothing is currently happening involving Miley, Stewart said.
4:23pm: D’Backs GM Dave Stewart said “We are not talking to Boston” about a Miley deal, SB Nation’s Chris Cotillo tweets. Officials from both Arizona and Boston tell Nightengale (Twitter link) that there aren’t any active trade talks about Miley. The Marlins thought they were close to acquiring Miley before the Diamondbacks pulled out, Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald reports.
3:46pm: The Red Sox are actually not involved at all in discussions on Miley, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports on Twitter. Miami is still in the picture, Nightengale tweets.
3:40pm: The Red Sox are indeed nearing a deal to acquire Miley, Jon Morosi of FOX Sports reports on Twitter.
3:21pm: The Marlins and Rangers are out on Miley, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, leaving the Red Sox as the likely suitor unless another team has jumped in.
3:02pm: One team that had been in discussions on Miley has dropped out, believing a deal to be nearing between the Diamondbacks and Red Sox, Sean McAdam of CSNNE.com tweets.
2:37pm: The D’Backs are nearing a deal involving Miley, Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports tweets.
12:26pm: Arizona appears to be after young pitching in return, Alex Speier of WEEI.com reports.
9:14am: The Diamondbacks are listening to offers for starter Wade Miley, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports on Twitter. Arizona appears to have at least some inclination to move him, as the club is attempting to drop its payroll under the $90MM threshold.
Miley, 28, is in his first of three seasons of arbitratration eligibility. The lefty has been a sturdy presence in the D’Backs rotation over the past three seasons, posting a total of 598 2/3 innings at a 3.74 ERA clip over that stretch. Though his results took a step backward last year, ERA estimators suggested he was much the same pitcher, if not better. Indeed, Miley also managed a career-best 8.2 K/9.
Of course, with that kind of volume of productive innings, Miley’s arbitration earnings will not be low. MLBTR and Matt Swartz project that he will take home $4.3MM this year, and that number will only rise in future seasons.
Nevertheless, Miley is a durable, controllable starter who figures to draw plenty of suitors. The Red Sox, Marlins, Blue Jays, and Rangers are already said to have some interest. Of course, the same things that make him attractive to other clubs presumably make him a nice commodity to the D’Backs, so it remains to be seen how serious the club is about striking a deal.
