Today: The Brewers have sent Miller outright to the Triple-A Nashville Sounds, according to his transaction log on MLB.com. He has not previously been outrighted in his career, nor does he have the necessary MLB service time to reject an outright assignment, so he will remain in the organization and report to Nashville.
July 1: The Brewers announced that outfielder Garrett Mitchell has been reinstated from the 60-day injured list, with infielder Tyler Black optioned to get Mitchell onto the active roster, moves which were reported to be impending yesterday. To open a 40-man spot, infielder Owen Miller has been designated for assignment.
Miller, 27, has been a Brewer since December of 2022. That month, he came over from the Guardians in a trade that sent cash or a PTBNL to Cleveland. Last year, he acted as a serviceable depth piece by hitting .261/.303/.371 in 90 games for the Brewers around frequent optional assignments, bouncing around to multiple defensive positions.
This year, he has still been in that role but his numbers have dropped off considerably, as he currently sports a slash line of .185/.185/.222 for the year. To be fair, that has come in just 27 plate appearances while being optioned three times this year. In 195 Triple-A appearances this year, he has hit .259/.344/.382. That’s still subpar, leading to a wRC+ of 90, but far more respectable than the small sample of work at the big league level.
His time on the roster may have been nearing its end regardless, as he is in his final option year and will be out of options next year. That will give him less roster flexibility going forward and the Brewers needed a roster spot today, so he’s been nudged out of his spot a bit ahead of schedule.
They will now have a week to trade Miller or pass him through waivers. Perhaps some club in need of some depth will be interested, as Miller can still be stashed in the minors for the rest of this season. He has spent time at all four infield positions as well as the outfield corners, so he can provide a club with all kinds of defensive versatility. He has hit just .239/.287/.345 in his major league career, which translates to a 76 wRC+, but mostly in part-time roles.
He hit .305/.368/.450 in the minors from 2018 to 2021, before reaching the bigs and entering the up-and-down period he has been in for the past few seasons. That perhaps leaves some hope that his bat is better than it has looked recently. He has between two and three years of major league service and can be retained beyond this season if he has a roster spot somewhere.
He got to play major league base ball. What ever comes next he can be proud to have played at the highest level.
* major
See coaching in his future.
Francona swore by this guy, said he was a natural hitter. Francona, what a joke.
Maybe this is why Francona really retired.
I do think your O’s would be lucky to get Owen Miller for Holliday. Miller has shown he can be useful as an up-and-down guy in the majors over several years. The Holliday guy is suspect with all that swing-and-miss in his game.
Was he Owen the Brewers anything?
Well, he lived the dream in 2023 at least…played well for his hometown team.
Tidy piece of business here.
C’mon Friedman he can’t be worse than Biggio?
What’s their fascination with Vinny Capra?
I thought for sure he’d be the one dropped.
They aren’t very different, versatile RH utility guys. May as well keep the guy who has been playing better(Capra)
Loved watching you swing for the fences as a Brewers, Russell
Plays SS. Its been stated often.
He’s just another guy. He doesn’t do anything particularly well, but can play multiple positions. SD cranks out prospects like Miller like they’re grinding nuts.
Cubs could use him. Heck, Cubs could use anyone…
With too many young players, in the pipline.,his time was limited. I think he is a Ham and Egger based on his versatility. Goodbye and Goodluck!