Brewers Sign LHP Wade Miley to One-Year, Incentive-Laden Contract

The Milwaukee Brewers made their first major league free agent signing of the offseason by agreeing to an incentive-laden deal with veteran pitcher Wade Miley. The deal is a one-year contract for $4.5 million with incentives that can max out the Brewers’ commitment to $6 million.

The deal includes a $10 million mutual option for the 2024 season with a $1 million buyout. Mutual options are very rarely picked up so consider it a $1 million deal for Miley to not play for the Brewers in 2024.

The incentives include $150,000 for reaching 75 innings pitched, $350,000 for 100 innings pitched, and $500,000 if Miley reaches 125 and 150 innings pitched.

Miley looks to fill the back of the Brewers’ rotation and could portend pitching trades in the next month to alleviate the crowded nature of the Brewer rotation.

The 36-year-old Miley was last effective in 2021 while pitching for the Cincinnati Reds, where he posted a 139 ERA+ over 163 innings pitched. Last year with the Cubs, Miley suffered a shoulder injury and multiple setbacks that restricted him to only 37 innings pitched during the season.

Since a disastrous season with Baltimore in 2017, Miley has been an effective starting pitcher, pitching 462 innings with a 3.50 ERA across four ball clubs, including a very nice 2018 partial season in Milwaukee.

Miley, a veteran of 12 major league seasons, was never a fireballer as a big leaguer, maxing out with a fastball velocity of just over 91mph. But as age and injury have worn him down through his 30s, his fastball average now begins with an “8,” and in limited 2022 time, his fastball was in the first percentile on Baseball Savant. That wasn’t due to a recent injury, though, as his fastball velocity was in the second percentile the previous season.

As previously mentioned, Miley won't blow anyone away, but as long as he's healthy, his movement and stuff allow him to get major-league hitters out at a nice clip. He's the poster boy for the term "crafty lefty veteran".

Miley’s acquisition is somewhat curious given the current Brewer rotation, which already features Corbin Burnes, Brandon Woodruff, Freddy Peralta, Eric Lauer, Aaron Ashby, and Adrian Houser as options. Miley is an excellent insurance policy at the back of a stacked rotation. Still, it’s hard to envision the veteran agreeing to terms with Milwaukee if some amount of playing time wasn’t guaranteed, particularly given the incentives baked into the contract.

Does this imply the Brewers are working to trade one of their current starting pitchers? Given their lack of activity on the free agent market and the lack of remaining decent options available, trading from a position of excess makes sense to help shore up other parts of the roster that could use some help. Obviously, either Burnes or Woodruff would bring back an excellent return but would also cripple the Brewers' chance to compete in 2023. Peralta and Ashby have long extensions in place, making them unlikely trade candidates. That leaves Lauer as the logical remaining candidate, which wouldn't be surprising given his outspoken nature in the clubhouse, which may have ruffled feathers within the organization.

What is your take on this, Brewer Fanatics? Is Miley rotation insurance, or is this the first of a series of moves with the Brewers' pitching staff?