Report: Mariners get starter Wade Miley in trade with Red Sox
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — After losing free agent pitcher Hisashi Iwakuma to the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Seattle Mariners responded quickly. They’ve reportedly agreed to acquire starting pitcher Wade Miley from the Boston Red Sox.
The deal as we know it sends starter Roenis Elías and reliever Carson Smith to the Red Sox. The Mariners are also getting pitcher Jonathan Aro in return from Boston. Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal said the two sides were working toward a deal. Ken Davidoff of the New York Post was first to report it was done.
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The Mariners had made resigning Iwakuma their top priority, but the Dodgers locked him in for a three-day worth a reported $45 million. So Seattle turned to the trade market, where Boston was looking to unload an arm after signing David Price.
For Boston, which is trying to bolster its bullpen, Smith is a stellar return, as he had a 2.34 ERA in 70 appearances last season, striking out 92 hitters in 70 innings. In fact, according to Fangraphs, he was Seattle’s second most valuable pitcher after Felix Hernandez last season. Smith is 26 and not a free agent until 2021, so there’s a lot of upside there. He is now likely to play setup man to new Red Sox closer Craig Kimbrel.
The Mariners get at least two more years of Miley and a third if they choose. He’s under contract for $6.16 million in 2016 and $8.9 million in 2017 with a $12 million team option for 2018. Miley, 29, has established himself — for better or worse — as a mid-rotation innings eater. In each of his four full seasons, he’s thrown at least 190 innings and made at least 32 starts. That doesn’t make him a perennial All-Star, but it keeps him in the employ of an MLB team.
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At his best, Miley won 16 games with a 3.33 ERA as a rookie in 2012. He finished second in Rookie of the Year voting and was an All-Star. He’s been no better than a .500 pitcher with a near 4.00 ERA ever since though. Last season, his first with the Red Sox after a Winter Meetings trade from Arizona last year, Miley tossed 193 innings, going 11-11 with a 4.46 ERA. It was, by a few different metrics, the worst season of his career. His strikeouts were down to 147 from a career-high 183 the previous season and that ERA was also the highest in his career.
Some of that might have been a result of adjusting to the American League, so getting that out of the way could help the Mariners. But if Seattle is counting on him for anything more than a No. 3 starter, there could be some disappointment.
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Mike Oz is the editor of Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @MikeOz
