9:35am: Miley’s deal pays him a prorated $2.5MM salary in the majors and comes with an additional $1.5MM available via incentives, Mark Sheldon of MLB.com reports.
8:57am: The Reds announced Wednesday that they’ve signed left-hander Wade Miley to a one-year, major league contract. The O’Connell Sports client recently opted out of a minor league deal with Cincinnati and briefly became a free agent, but he’s back in the fold and on the major league roster. To make room on the active roster, the Reds placed top starter Hunter Greene on the 15-day IL due to a groin strain. Top prospect Rhett Lowder, who’s been on the injured list all season due to a forearm strain, moves from the 15-day IL to the 60-day IL to clear a spot on the 40-man roster.
Miley, 38, will return to the majors after a 14-month absence. The veteran southpaw made two starts for the Brewers last year but suffered a torn UCL during the second of those two outings. He openly contemplated retirement but wound up opting to undergo Tommy John surgery and give it one more go in the majors. He inked a minor league deal to return for a second stint with Cincinnati, where he pitched from 2020-21.
Miley’s 2025 season has been spent rehabbing from that UCL surgery. He’s had a rough stretch in the minors, though a disproportionate amount of the damage done against him came in his first game, when he yielded six runs in just 2 1/3 innings with the Reds’ High-A club. Some early rust is understandable, and while Miley hasn’t exactly dominated since that time, he’s pitched more effectively as he shakes off the rust. He’s lasted five innings in two of his past three starts, allowing two runs in one and keeping his opponents scoreless in the other. That pair of solid outings was encouraging, but they also bookended an ugly May 25 outing in which he allowed four runs and didn’t escape the first inning.
Overall, Miley has an 8.84 ERA on his rehab stint, but he’s been more good than bad recently. Clearly, the Reds felt his stuff looked good enough to place him onto the major league roster. They could’ve gone with top prospect Chase Petty or journeyman Aaron Wilkerson — both of whom are pitching well in Triple-A this season. Petty is already on the 40-man roster and has made a brief MLB debut already. Instead, Reds brass was encouraged enough by the work Miley has put in that they feel he merits a look in the majors.
Time will tell if Miley can still pitch effectively in the big leagues. He didn’t get much of a chance to do so in 2024 prior to that elbow injury, but from 2021-23, Miley logged a tidy 3.26 ERA across 320 1/3 innings between a trio of NL Central rivals: the Reds, Cubs and Brewers.
Getting back to that level is a tough ask for a 38-year-old coming off Tommy John surgery, but Cincinnati doesn’t need Miley to pitch like an ace. The Reds have received outstanding work from each of Greene (2.72 ERA in 59 2/3 innings), Andrew Abbott (1.51 ERA in 47 2/3 innings), Nick Lodolo (3.10 ERA in 69 2/3 innings) and Nick Martinez (3.89 ERA in 69 1/3 innings). If Miley can simply hold down the fort during Greene’s absence and pitch like a competent back-of-the-rotation arm, the Reds’ rotation would still be among the best in the sport.
Turning to the 25-year-old Greene, this will be his second IL stint of the season due to a groin injury. He missed two weeks in mid-May due to a similar injury. Greene was lifted from his most recent start due to recurring tightness, and he’ll now sit back down for at least another two weeks. He’s been among the best pitchers in the National League dating back to last year — combined 210 innings, 2.74 ERA, 28.5% strikeout rate, 8.4% walk rate — making his recovery a particularly notable one for the Reds. He’s in the third season of a six-year, $53MM contract extension signed in April 2023.
As for Lowder, his move to the 60-day IL is largely procedural. He’s already spent more than 60 days on the injured list, and the shift from the 15-day IL to the 60-day IL does not reset his eligibility for a return. The 2023 No. 7 overall pick went out on a rehab stint from the forearm injury that’s plagued him in mid-May and looked to be trending toward a return before he suffered an oblique strain during one of his rehab starts. The Reds have since shut him back down from throwing. It’s notable that Lowder’s arm appears to be healthy again, but he’ll need to let that oblique strain mend for at least another couple weeks before starting from scratch on a new minor league rehab stint.
If he pitches well, expect a trade deadline flip for a contender needing an innings eater.
@sillywabbit
So, Dodgers?
Astros?
SW- More likely that if Miley pitches well that Martinez will be traded. He’s the one with the bloated contract.
I’m not in a rush to part with Nick Martinez. He’s a reliable innings eater who had a great May. Try to re-sign him to a 2-3 year deal.
The Reds aren’t going to sign Martinez. To many arms in the minors waiting for their chance. He would have been dumb to turn down the QO for 21 million, but they won’t do that again. Most likely he gets moved before the deadline so Miley or Petty has a spot.
Interesting he resigned with the Reds and that he is getting paid as much as he is. Seems like there should have been offers from more clear cut contenders in need of rotation help. The Astros just had an article wondering who they would trade for. I guess a pro rated $2.5M salary is too much for them.
Miley has not pitched well over the last two years. I don’t understand the Reds signing him since he’s carrying a 5.93 ERA in AAA. I think they have better options than Miley in Louisville.
you mean..the 2 starts he made last year before tj? yea…I guess he hasn’t pitched well the last 2 years. you should have your own podcast!
He’s still not pitching well in the minors.
He has looked terrible this year so far.
He was getting absolutely shelled in the minors this year. He gave up 4 ER in late relief in his first MLB appearance since being signed just the other day. The dude is done.
I am a Brewers fan, but I am cheering for Miley. He was great in Milwaukee until he got hurt. You are not gong to ge a better clubhouse guy than Miley, and he is a great leader for the younger pitchers. I see him someday in the Majors as either a Pitching Coach or a Manager. If he is back to any form of the old Wade Miley, the Reds are getting a steal. Give him at least two starts to see where he is at, and then make the determination. If the Brewers needed starting pitching right now, i would not mind them bringing him back. However, the Brewers presently have too much starting pitching, so I don’t ever see that happening. I would like to see him as a coach in Milwaukee at some point.
We’ll give you Wade and pay his salary in return for that minor leaguer, what’s his name? Oh yes, Henderson. Miley and money for Henderson 😉
Everyone in the clubhouse loves a good pill sharing bro
The pro-rated $2.5M salary with up to $1.5M in incentives are the exact contract terms that Miley and the Reds agreed to this offseason. This was part of his minor league deal, if/when added to the major league roster. The Reds had the right to add him to the 40-man at this salary, or let him walk when he opted out.
Thanks for the explanation the article reads as a release and resign so your clarification is spot on.
Honestly, they don’t have better HEALTHY options.
Greene pulled the groin again? Dude, what are you doing off the field between starts?
Too much tuggin’ on the tallywhacker!
Nick Martinez will obviously traded before the trading deadline expires. My question is since he accepted the qualifying offer can he be traded now or is there a time he has to wait for before a deal can be made.
MANY better AND cheaper options than Miley … he will be a BUST !
The Reds are a bottom feeding organization and have comducted business as such for several years now.
WT??? This immediately becomes the front runner for dumbest in-season transaction. Thank you Wade for your past contributions. But wow, which people in the Reds org thought this signing was a good idea? WT???