December 2: The Dodgers have officially announced the signing of Miller to a one-year, $1.5MM deal.
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.
Why?
Reinventing him as a reliever, which he had some solid success with last season in the minors. He’s their new Jimmy Nelson, or so they hope.
You mean the Jimmy Nelson who gave them 29 innings over three seasons? That Jimmy Nelson? Or maybe you’re thinking of Ricky Nelson. At least he went to a garden party.
You should change your name to gloomy skies, it’s a better fit.
Aw, ain’t you cute.
I’d prefer the Dodgers keep their same approach to building a pen than paying a premium for RPs. Too volatile of a position.
Blue, with my giants in his first 3 outings: 5 2/3 inn, 13 KS, 4 hits, 0 runs. Seriously. 13 of first 17 outs were strikeouts. He obviously was crazy good. His 4th and last appearance 1.1 inn, 2 hits, 3 walks, 5 ers. Crazy bad. I was hoping he’d be back. Surely there’s some potential for more greatness….or not. Worth a shot, blue?
@claude. So we’re talking less than six innings as a useful sample size? Yeah, so greatness, or not, those are the possible outcomes. Anyhow, everyone is worth a shot if he isn’t taking up a roster slot, because for every player who occupies one, there’s another player who doesn’t. The Giants seemingly didn’t think he was worth one and the Dodgers did. We won’t know who made the right call until we know. I just thought was humorous to tag him as the next Jimmy Nelson, because that is not actually a thing to wish for if you know how much production the Dodgers got out of him over three seasons.
“…for every player who occupies one, there’s another player who doesn’t”
And is that all that…matters?
Weeeeeeoooooooh
No, it isn’t “all that matters,” it’s just a thing that matters. Many like you prefer to ignore it, the same way you ignored everything else I said. So weeeeoooh yourself.
‘Matter’ is something that occupies space.
Sorry a grade school science class joke went over your head.
This dude hasn’t been good since 2015, then with the Braves he was 6-17 with a 3.02 era.
I smell a LAD “I gotcha moment here”
Major League contract?
LAD are at it again…
I’ve said it before, as a Braves fan, LA has us all beat with their scouting. LA knows something to sign Miller at a major league contract.
I’m still awestruck by the Chris Martin achievement. How they got half of that from him begs when he soul his soul to El Diablo.
Pirates made that mistake.
It’s one of the great mysteries in bb history since players wore wool uniforms in the summer. How does a team compile a lineup loaded with stars, a deep bench and a solid pitching staff fail to do well in the PO despite winning close to or well over 100 wins each season? (feel free to count 2020. I don’t, not without an asterisk.)
At what, pray tell
It’s not really a mystery – the postseason is a small sample size, and small sample sizes yield a wide range of results.
It’s a bit like stopping the first 10 runners 98% of the way through a marathon, lining them up, then making them sprint the last mile.
They read the MLB.com article that said he was a gamechanging reliever.
Figure it out yourself, drasco. It’s not difficult.
I appreciate @LordD99’s comment.
Now, this has to make Trae Young very happy.
Damn! I was hoping the A’s sign him.
I’m sure Dodgers fans feel the same way
I have already jumped onto the Shelby Miller Cy Young train. His time with the Dodgers will improve him to unimaginable levels (source: trust me bro)
will be talked about MVP next season – bank on it.
Top 5 Cy Young finish inbound lol.
How does he keep getting work?
I get that the Dodgers have a way of turning reclamation projects into gold, but this is just too much of a stretch. It’s been a long time since Miller was effective. Odds are against this working out. I hope I’m wrong
He apparently looked really good in the minors last year according to reports, so LA is going to run him through their renowned pitching lab and see what happens.
My guess is “good things.”
Shelby Miller one-year 1.5 million > Chris Martin two-year 17 million
If the Dodgers wanted to build up their young hitters confidence in Spring Training by letting them take live batting practice off Shelby Miller, then pencil Gavin Lux in for an MVP season and James Outman for Rookie of the Year.
$1.5M just isn’t what it used to be.
Well I guess LA doesn’t need Verlander now.
Tremendous profile pic!
Yeah. Wearing a Pittsburgh uniform. Nothing about that in the article.
No Avenger!!!! Haha I was referring to the poster “SouthernLion” and his avatar!
Speaking of which, what Cub is in your pic Trumbo?
Chet Steadman
C’mon man! Every one recognizes Gary Busey
He found the shirt at the Salvation Army.
Crazy that he was so good with the cardinals and the Braves than got traded to the diamondbacks and just feel apart.
I will be routing for him for sure. Dodgers have had great success with turning pitchers around
I feel the same way. Good on him for sticking it out all this time. Wouldn’t shock me to see him have success with the Dodgers
You mean with Swanson playing at short behind him in Los Angeles.
Shouldn’t that be rooting?
You realize that was 7 years ago?
I fully expect him to strictly be a reliever.
Absolutely
Took him away from the Giants, who were interested in re-signing him
If they were genuinely interested they would have already locked him up by now. Some of the best moves are the ones you don’t make.
There are levels of interest. The fact that the Dodgers were willing to give him a ML deal, suggests the Dodgers interest was greater. It doesn’t mean the Giants weren’t genuinely interested.
While I always root for comeback players to succeed, I’ll be shocked if Miller is still on the Dodgers’ roster by June 1st. He is just too much of a head case to believe in anymore, even in shorter stints out of the bullpen. One or two meltdowns and he’ll be all done.
They helped turn Heaney around.. maybe they can fix whats broke with Miller.. *shrug*
Heaney threw 72 meaningless innings last year and spent a bunch of time on the IL.
When he was on the mound he pitched better than he ever had with the angels or Yankees..
Meaningless innings? I’m sure those 35.5% of hitters he struck out weren’t even trying.
Dude looked exceptional last year – but, you’d have to actually watch games to know that.
WHO????
You know who he is don’t play.
Mike Jones
27menout, very solid post haha WHO!!! WHO!!!
“he’s got a shotgun so go back home, so you’ll never, catch Mr. Jones.”
Hahahahahhahaha Yes!!!
The yearly Freidman special
Is he still smashing his pitching hand on the ground with his follow through?
Now that he is with the dodgers he will pitch to a 2.5era with 13/k per nine.
Yep. Nothing shady to see here
… and only pitch 20 innings while spending 80% of the season on the DL.
He was decent at AAA last season. He’ll only be 32. He could be useful out of the bullpen.
the new chris martin or whatnot. hope he delivers for us.
Right. As a Cubs fan, saw Martin pitch mediocre. W LA, was prime Mariano Rivera. I dont put anything past LA and TB w what they can do w pitching.
Terrific analysis in the article.
He had some moments last year as a giants fan who saw him up close, it makes perfect sense the dodgers would build on his success. I’d imagine this is a flier type deal since he didn’t have the track record , but he found something last season, that especially in relief could be dangerous to hitters moving forward.
Didn’t really expect him to get a major league offer from a contender, so good on him. I figured the MLB offers would be from fringe clubs or rebuilding ones with minor league offers from the top teams.
….or the Dodgers, with a history of turning scrubs into stars
Dodgers do have a decent history of turning people around, but it’s still surprising it’s an mlb deal.
don’t count him out of a full season of his latest performance
FU Farhan, you cheap MFer
Oh please, dude. Nobody should be crying about letting Shelby Miller get away.
Giants fans are even more desperate than the Giants FO and owner.
Stay classy Geoff.
Farhan isnt cheap! He just paid Joc 19.5 for one season!
Now the Dodgers have to sign Dansby Swanson and the circle will be complete.
The Dodgers are one of those teams where if they give a guy a Major League Contract, then he’s probably going to dominate for a season, no matter who he is.
I still don’t understand why the Cubs did not try this in 2021.
Smart. Miller’s peripherals in the minors the last two seasons are excellent. Respectable # of ip. Surprised he didn’t do a little better on the guarantee.
It’s a low risk high reward situation. I like it. Dodgers are known to make mediocre pitchers into good pitchers. LA is the best place for him.
Low risk high reward.
Just give me DeGrom and Verlander and for Insurance we need to start developing Miller, Pepiot and Grove Pitching wins Championships….111 wins this year meant nothing we have a good core. of kids that can make some noise in Busch, Outman, Pages & Vargas.
Trade for Adames or Burnes
Bring back Old Man Turner and Bellinger
Busch can play 2B and Taylor and Lux can man SS
deGrom AND Verlander in addition to what they already have? I’ll take whatever you’re smoking please.
Smoking Pinstripes 😉 The could do this very easily. they have the freed cash and the prospects to compete with any trade.
Dodgers do their homework on pitchers. Will be fun to see what they can do with him.
good situation for Shelby Miller, Im guessing he chose to go to the Dodgers to work with Mark Prior, good fit as a potential starter should there be an injury.
I can’t believe teams continue to try with him. al
It’s not like he costs a small fortune in Baseball money. The Dodgers have spent more money on paying guys not to play for them (Cole Hamels, Danny Duffy, etc.) than what Miller is costing them
Cole Hamels is looking for a one year deal too, he’s just turned 39, Id sign him and put him in the rotation.
Sign Cole Hamels to a minor league contract and invite him to spring training.
The Dodgers already did that to replace Bauer when he got put on leave. Hamels spent his time on the IL and cashed every paycheck.
Shelby Miller with the Cardinals was a stud until Zona he lost it
This has horrific idea written all over it. He would have taken a minor league pact
They likely did a major league deal because there was competition to sign him believe it or not.
Money to burn if your LA
And my Shelby Miller baseball card collection just got a breath of new life.
Let’s GO!!!
I can’t believe they aren’t in a rush to sign Chris martin. He was lights out and didn’t walk anyone. Maybe looking for big money?
Over the past 6 seasons he’s combined for a 7 ERA in 200 innings., made about 20 M$ during that span.
It’s funny to know that Dodgers were top bid for this guy.
When I asked could anybody be worse than Craig Kimbrel last year, it was rhetorical. The Dodgers have the magic touch, but I think Shelby won’t be the best pitcher named Miller on the squad by the end of the season.
The next Tyler Anderson.
HHJJ, Next Hean Dog at the least!
Miller….thought Brewer for sure.
They had him a couple years ago. Pitched decent at AAA but fortunately never got the call. Who knows maybe he will be decent as a reliever. Will atleast keep a young guy wasting away in the bullpen when they could be developing more with regular time in AAA.
Dodgers dumpster diving?
A bit surprising, but watch next year he has a like 2 ERA.
Dodgers do a great job of finding cost-efficient relievers that end up surprising the league. I’m with it.
World Series here we come!
It’s pretty clear a lot of y’all didn’t see Miller dominate hitters for the Giants last year. I saw it and apparently Dodgers scouts did as well.
I am not against the signing but if 111 Wins didn’t cut it because they ran out of gas in all phases.
You should be a well balanced team. Bullpen is important part now as guys don’t very often go the distance, especially with our Manager Dave.
Kershaw Verlander Degrom are all studs experience and stuff and knows how to pitch when their stuff isn’t right…… But Injuries with these guys is the risk, but worth it.
Then you have Urias Gonsolin & May That’s a very strong 5 core Pitching Staff. Trade for Burnes & it is 6 Strong…
We already have a bullpen and very confident with it because the Dodgers do a great job finding them and mixing them with what we have.
Work in a little Miller, Grove, Pepiot, Jackson & Stone. If 2 of the 5 pan out that is 7 to 8 Strong with some protection of Injuries. Just not the experience and the knowledge but they do have the studs that they can learn from.
Inject some youth exciting baseball with hungry young players that want to make a name for them self in:
Outman Vargas Busch Pages
Sometimes young competition tends to ignite the older players that feel to comfortable.
Bring back if and they are willing to take a paycut players like Bellinger & Turner.
Turner is a leader and Belli can still establish his value because of the great defense he plays at CF
Going after Degrom and Verlander is a reach at the same time but they fit the bill on how the Dodgers work High Annual pay short term contract
They can afford to waste money, unlike 20 other teams in the major leagues.
Great signing, imo. 3 great games, one horrible game. You’ll know in ST which pitcher you’re getting. If it is the bad Miller, you cut him with almost no downside.
Watched those three “great games” through a Giants fan’s eyes and thought I had never seen a pitcher get away with so many center-cut fastballs and hanging sliders. Very happy the Giants let him go. We will see…..
Shelby miller is the new Mark prior – signing minor league deals year after year after the career in the 30s is toast.
Good luck. Many teams had and passed.
Let the man start!
Hope that this is another Brandon Morrow turnaround. Dodgers love to turn around these former first round flameout pitchers.
Odd
So what does he have to do for him to get the extra 100K?
He needs to be someone other than Shelby Miller on that mound, and that’s a tall order.
Hahahahahahahahah
Andrew Friedman loves making meaningless moves in hopes that one of them works out so he can be considered a genius.