The Cubs released left-handed reliever Trever Miller, Doug Padilla of ESPNChicago.com tweets. The Cubs had signed the Praver/Shapiro client to a minor league contract in January.
Miller, who turns 39 in May, posted a 3.80 ERA with 5.1 K/9, 5.1 BB/9 and a 38% ground ball rate in 21 1/3 innings for the Cardinals, Blue Jays, and Red Sox in 2011. He started the season in St. Louis, went to Toronto in a July trade, and signed with Boston after the Blue Jays released him.
The Cubs signed lefty reliever Trever Miller to a minor league deal, tweets ESPN's Jayson Stark. The deal includes a spring training invite, and the Praver/Shapiro client will make $800K if he's in the big leagues.
Miller, 38, posted a 3.80 ERA, 5.1 K/9, 5.1 BB/9, 0.84 HR/9, and 38% groundball rate in 21 1/3 innings for the Cardinals, Blue Jays, and Red Sox in 2011. Miller began 2011 with the Cards and was traded to Toronto as part of the July Colby Rasmus–Edwin Jackson–Marc Rzepczynski–Octavio Dotel eight-player deal. His inclusion was mostly a salary dump, as the Jays designated him for assignment less than a month later. After Miller was released, then-Red Sox GM Theo Epstein signed him to a minor league deal. Epstein is now the Cubs' president of baseball operations.
The Cubs' trade of Sean Marshall to the Reds created an opportunity in their bullpen for lefty relievers, especially if Travis Wood makes the Opening Day rotation. The Cubs also have lefties Jeff Beliveau, John Gaub, Scott Maine, and James Russell on their 40-man roster. Aside from Miller, the Cubs' non-roster invitees include Justin Berg, Manny Corpas, Rodrigo Lopez, Jason Jaramillo, and Bobby Scales.
After the Miller signing, the free agent market for left-handed relievers still includes Mike Gonzalez, Arthur Rhodes, and Hong-Chih Kuo, among others.
The Red Sox signed Trever Miller and assigned him to Triple-A, according to Dan Hoard, the radio voice of the Pawtucket Red Sox (on Twitter). The Blue Jays designated the 38-year-old lefty for assignment on August 16th and released him five days later.
Miller appeared in six games for the Blue Jays after they acquired him in the July trade that sent Colby Rasmus to Toronto. In 19 1/3 innings for the Cardinals and Blue Jays this year, the 13-year veteran has a 4.19 ERA with 5.1 K/9, 5.6 BB/9 and a 38.8 % ground ball rate.
The Blue Jays designated lefty Trever Miller for assignment, according to a team press release. The Jays placed Jon Rauch on the DL and purchased the contracts of Wil Ledezma and Rommie Lewis in the series of moves, leaving their 40-man roster at 39. Dan Mennella examined the fantasy consequences of the Jays' roster moves at CloserNews earlier today.
Miller, 38, tossed only 3 2/3 innings since coming over from the Cardinals in the Colby Rasmus trade. On the season he has a 4.19 ERA, 5.1 K/9, 5.6 BB/9, 0.93 HR/9, and 38.8% groundball rate in 19 1/3 innings. He hasn't been able to shut down lefties since '09.
On the off-chance you missed it, the Blue Jays, Cardinals and White Sox announced a pair of major trades today. The Blue Jays acquired center fielder Colby Rasmus and pitchers Trever Miller, Brian Tallet, and P.J. Walters from the Cardinals for starter Edwin Jackson, relievers Marc Rzepczynski and Octavio Dotel, outfielder Corey Patterson, and three players to be named later or cash considerations. Before completing the deal with St. Louis, the Blue Jays acquired Jackson and third baseman Mark Teahen from the White Sox for reliever Jason Frasor and prospect Zach Stewart. Here’s reaction to the trades from around MLB. Be warned, Cardinals fans, you might not like what follows…
An eight-player deal was struck today, as the Blue Jays announced they've acquired center fielder Colby Rasmus and pitchers Trever Miller, Brian Tallet, and P.J. Walters from the Cardinals for starter Edwin Jackson, relievers Marc Rzepczynski and Octavio Dotel, outfielder Corey Patterson, and three players to be named later or cash considerations. ESPN's Buster Olney first tweeted the full details.
In Rasmus (pictured), Alex Anthopoulos acquired a good young player who had worn out his welcome with management, much like the Blue Jays GM did with Yunel Escobar last summer. Rasmus, 24, is hitting .246/.332/.420 in 386 plate appearances, a down year compared to 2010. He'll be arbitration eligible for the first time after this season, so he's under team control through 2014. Cardinals GM John Mozeliak recently called a Rasmus trade "highly unlikely," but as Strauss notes, the center fielder has "fascinated and frustrated" the Cardinals over the last three years and made repeated trade requests. Mozeliak shopped Rasmus to the Blue Jays, Rays, and Red Sox, reports Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. He adds that prior to public criticism from manager Tony La Russa earlier this month, the Cardinals were in contract extension negotiations with Rasmus.
Miller, 38, has been used sparingly by the Cardinals this year, logging only 15 2/3 innings. Most of them came against left-handed hitters, but Miller hasn't pitched well no matter how you slice it. About $700K remains on his contract. Tallet, 33, has been ineffective as well and currently resides on the DL for an intercostal strain. He spent the previous five seasons with the Jays. About $263K remains on his contract.
Walters, 26, has logged 50 innings in the bigs since 2009. The righty has a 4.27 ERA, 7.6 K/9, 3.7 BB/9, and 0.8 HR/9 in 103 1/3 Triple-A innings this year, his fourth stint at the level. Baseball America ranked him 19th among Cardinals prospects prior to the season, praising his plus changeup but projecting a long relief/swingman role.
Jackson, 27, was traded for the fifth and sixth times in his career today. The 27-year-old flourished in nearly 200 innings with the White Sox, and improves a Cardinals rotation that ranks seventh in the NL with a 3.84 ERA. The acquisition gives the Cards the flexibility to move Kyle McClellan back to the bullpen, leaving a rotation of Chris Carpenter, Jaime Garcia, Jackson, Jake Westbrook, and Kyle Lohse. Jackson, a Scott Boras client, figures to test free agency after the season as a Type B. About $2.9MM remains on his contract.
The Cardinals' bullpen gets a lift from Dotel, Rzepczynski, and McClellan. Dotel, 37, has a 3.68 ERA, 9.2 K/9, 3.7 BB/9, 1.53 HR/9, and 28.6% groundball rate on the season; he excels against right-handed batters. Should the Cardinals turn down his $3.5MM club option, Dotel projects as a Type B free agent in the AL at the moment. If the option is declined, about $1.7MM remains on Dotel's contract.
Rzepczynski, 25, switched to full-time relief this year. He has a 2.97 ERA, 7.6 K/9, 3.4 BB/9, 0.46 HR/9, and strong 65.7% groundball rate in 39 1/3 innings this year. He complements Dotel nicely, having dominated lefties and struggled against righties. Rzepczynski is under team control through 2015. Dotel and Rzepczynski do not appear to be a threat to closer Fernando Salas, writes Dan Mennella of CloserNews.
Patterson, 31, is hitting .252/.287/.379 in 341 plate appearances for the Blue Jays this year. He restores a little bit of outfield depth for St. Louis.
Though there are eight players in this deal, it mostly boils down to the Cardinals renting Jackson and Dotel and getting Rzepczynski long-term in exchange for Rasmus' three arbitration years. It's hard to see this as anything but a win for the Blue Jays. Ultimately Rasmus cost the Jays Zach Stewart, Jason Frasor, Dotel, Rzepczynski, and Teahen's contract.
Photo courtesy of Icon SMI.
12:08pm: The Cardinals will send Rasmus, Trever Miller, Brian Tallet, and P.J. Walters to the Blue Jays for Jackson, Rzepczynski, Dotel, and Corey Patterson, tweets ESPN's Buster Olney. Olney adds that Miller is then expected to be traded to the White Sox.
12:01pm: This trade is not yet official because of the money involved, tweets Danny Knobler of CBS Sports. He says that aspect may need to be reworked before it's approved.
11:35am: A trade of Rasmus to the Blue Jays for Jackson, Dotel, and Rzepczynski is imminent, reports Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. He says an announcement could come early this afternoon.
11:22am: Edwin Jackson is definitely going to be traded by the Blue Jays, tweets SI's Jon Heyman. Heyman heard it's going to be for Cardinals outfielder Colby Rasmus. Rasmus being under team control through 2014 and still highly-regarded, the Cards will require more than just two months of Jackson. The two teams have talked about Marc Rzepczynski and Octavio Dotel, notes Olney, and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports tweets that the Cards asked about outfielder Eric Thames.
Rasmus is a popular trade target. ESPN's Buster Olney tweets that the Rays offered one of Jeff Niemann, Wade Davis, and Alex Cobb, and the young center fielder is very much available. The Indians have interest as well.
By entering the Cardinals-Giants game Saturday night, lefty reliever Trever Miller reached 45 appearances on the season. The appearance was nothing special, as Miller threw four pitches to Aubrey Huff and allowed a single. But the outing was signficant for Miller, as it caused his $2MM option for 2011 to vest.
According to Cot's Baseball Contracts, Miller's option will revert back to the club's choice if he spends time on the DL with a left arm or shoulder injury. He hasn't pitched well this year, but only needs about one more month of good health.
Meanwhile, the Rangers' Darren Oliver needs seven more appearances for his $3.25MM option to vest for next year.
We began the season with nine potential vesting options for 2011, but they're dropping like flies. With Alex Cora and Magglio Ordonez now off the board, we look at the remaining three:
The season started with nine vesting options to watch, but we're down to just five a little beyond the season's halfway point…
The vesting options for Kerry Wood, Brian Fuentes, Billy Wagner, and Matt Cain have already been addressed.
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