Shelby Miller has exercised an upward mobility clause in his minor league contract with the Diamondbacks, though the right-hander doesn’t appear to be going anywhere, as Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic reports that the D’Backs are expected to select his contract to the active roster. Miller inked his minors deal just at the start of Spring Training camp, and he’ll now officially return for a second stint in a Diamondbacks uniform.
That first stint is something of a painful memory for both Miller and Arizona fans, as he posted a 6.35 ERA over 139 innings with the club from 2016-18. Miller was acquired a part of a blockbuster five-player trade with the Braves in December 2015 that most prominently saw Dansby Swanson head to Atlanta, and Miller was viewed as an up-and-coming new fixture for the Diamondbacks’ rotation. However, injuries plagued Miller’s tenure in the desert, as a Tommy John surgery cost him the majority of the 2017-18 campaigns.
Miller has yet to recapture his early-career form in the intervening seasons, despite stops with multiple teams and a move to relief pitching. He had a very solid year in the Dodgers’ bullpen in 2023, but followed up his 1.71 ERA over 42 innings that year with an underwhelming 4.53 ERA in 55 2/3 frames out of the Tigers’ bullpen last season.
In Cactus League play this spring, however, Miller has a 2.70 ERA over 6 2/3 innings for the D’Backs. He has also struck out 11 out of his 25 batters faced, with zero walks against that impressive number of whiffs. Obviously time will tell if this performance can translate at all into the regular season, but it was enough to win Miller a spot in Arizona’s bullpen. Kendall Graveman has battled back problems this spring and may start the season on the injured list, which could’ve opened the door for Miller to make the team.
A 40-man roster spot for Miller could be opened up if and when Rene Pinto is designated for assignment, as Piecoro writes (multiple links) that Pinto was “saying his goodbyes in the clubhouse” earlier today. Pinto was claimed off waivers from the Orioles in January to add some depth to Arizona’s catching ranks, but it looks like Jose Herrera will indeed head to Opening Day as Gabriel Moreno’s backup. Piecoro suggests that the D’Backs could look to trade Pinto as part of the DFA process, if he isn’t claimed away by a team in need of catching help.
In other Diamondbacks roster news, Piecoro reports that minor league signing Ildemaro Vargas won’t be making the team. Vargas has the ability to opt out of his minor league deal and will first explore his options, though he’ll play with Triple-A Reno if another roster spot can’t be found in another organization. The veteran utilityman is in his third stint with the D’Backs over his eight MLB seasons, but Garrett Hampson was selected to Arizona’s roster today, giving Hampson the win over Vargas in the competition for a bench job.
Thought Vargas would get the spot over Hampson, in 2024 0.611 to 0.576 OPS, so neither offer much excitement on the offense side (OPS+of 75 to 63), favoring Vargas
Yeah, I’m a little surprised as well
Yes, hard to see why they wouldn’t want to run with the guy with a 0.611 OPS lol
Seems to me like a case of “shall I take the car that is missing the wheel on the left or the one that is missing the wheel on the right”
To their credit, they are resisting bringing up Lawlar too soon. In a year, Geno will be gone and Ketel will be a DH. Then Jordan and Demetrio can join Perdomo and Naylor.
Naylor a free agent after 2025. If he’s good I could see them bring him back but that’s not traditionally Hazen’s way. Ketel to DH might not happen that quickly either.
Thoughts on Tristan English?
Good point on Naylor, he could be gone after a year.
@sufferforsnakes
English has historically been more of a line drive hitter with higher HR totals coming from hitter friendly home parks; his ST plate discipline was promising, but if he keeps swinging like he did in AAA last season, he’ll get exploited pretty easily at the MLB level.
Not to say that he’s a bad player, as his contact rates weren’t actually “that bad” for a guy that swings as much as he did; I actually like him quite a bit as a “four corners” bench player, and his bat (and plate discipline) still has (have) upside compared to most other 27 year olds, because he spent his college career as a two way player.
He has plenty of promising traits if he can translate them to the MLB level, but currently he’s a short-side platoon, corner only player that has been old for his level for a few years now (and hasn’t exactly shown great plate discipline).
Probably not a full time 1B (unless he starts elevating some more of his contact and tightens up his discipline against RHP), but he’s got a chance to contribute in a bench role for stretches of a season.
If neither figures to be particularly good with the bat, you take the added roster utility every time.
Hampson plays every position that Vargas does, is the better MIF defender, and has played a decent CF; plus, Hampson has been one of the fastest MLB players by Sprint Speed for a few years now, and he’s one of the more efficient baserunners in terms of extra bases.
We’re likely to see a few lineups that feature all of Carroll, Hampson, McCarthy, and Perdomo at the same time, and I’m excited to see what kind of chaos they can create with Dave McKay.
Hard to believe he’s still only 34, feels like he’s been around for 20 years
Wild headline
I don’t know why everyone keeps bringing up the first Shelby Miller deal. Yeah it was a win for the Braves, but it wasn’t an all time steal or anything. The Braves got 1 All Star season out of Inciarte and 1 All Star year out of Swanson. The rest of the time they were in Atlanta, they were just average starters. And Aaron Blair was a huge bust. Win for Braves, but not as much of a win as people would have you believe..
Braves, in hindsight, probably didn’t sweep us with double digit numbers in each game but still swept the Diamondbacks with that trade.
Swanson was a top pick traded for a bust, it will be newsworthy for another generation.
Swanson has looked good in ST this year.
But not for the Braves. He didn’t break out until his final year in Atlanta. The Braves shouldn’t get credit for anything he does with the Cubs.
Pretty narrow way to look at what Dansby provided those Braves teams. Excellent defense at a premium position and unquestioned leadership in the clubhouse along with streaky power and a ring.
Was hoping to see Hampson and Vargas both make the OD roster (option Thomas and DFA Kessinger to make it happen), but I preferred Hampson if it was one or the other.
Somebody should be able to find MLB PAs for Ildemaro, and I wish him well when they do.
I am surprised the DBacks even invited Smelby Miller to ST camp. He is not a good name in their recent past, along with LaRussa and Stewart. All of them were sent packing, for being parts of one of the worst trades ever. but now Smelby may be back. Good Grief!
The real strategic value he offers lies in his ability to provide inconsistent but high-upside relief when injuries or fatigue derail the more reliable bullpen arms.
He started last year in Detroit as quite a effective reliever. However, as the year went on he became quite hitable and blew several leads before the Tigers gave him the DFA. I think part of it was his contract had incentives that he was close to getting but not earning as he was pitching quite poorly. He had a team option for 2025 but even if Detroit had kept him I doubt they would have picked up the option.
Never forget Dave Stewart trading Dansby Swanson away for Shelby Miller.
Anybody still believe Montgomery will be traded in April?
Or will the Dbacks DFA him?
Or will he stay until at least the Trade deadline?
Or will he finish the year as a Dback?
Can’t remember where I read it (a few too many adult beverages this afternoon), but I’m pretty sure that Montgomery and Ryne Nelson are both in the MLB bullpen to start the season.
So while Pfaadt is the #5, the bullpen would be: Ginkel, Mantiply, Martinez, Miller, Montgomery, Nelson, Puk, and Thompson.
Maybe they’re using Montgomery/Nelson as very long relievers to minimize the innings on the other SPs to start the season off? That is definitely one option to minimize the chance for overuse injuries in the early going. Plus, Montgomery is behind on building up his workload anyway.
I’ll always remember his year with the Braves when we were so bad. He couldn’t buy a win. In my head, he pitched really well that season. But looking at his numbers I’ve clearly overstated that. Which makes the trade a/ the dbacks even more crazy