There’s no disputation – Andrew Miller’s value will never be higher than it is right now.
With Aroldis Chapman off the trade market, the 31-year-old Miller leads the pack of available relievers who can be moved this summer, which means that the Yankees have an opportunity to garner an even larger bundle of prospects from a select contender.
Those teams, which include the Washington Nationals, Cleveland Indians, and Texas Rangers have all been in discussions for back-end relief, with an expressed interest in Miller. But will the Yankees part ways with one of baseball’s most dominant arms who provides both consistency and security?
On Tuesday’s edition of ESPN’s Baseball Tonight podcast, host Buster Olney discussed Andrew Miller’s future with guest Jayson Stark, imploring Yankees’ ownership to move their prized southpaw:
You would assume that some of the teams that finished second in the Chapman sweepstakes would be the teams to take a run at him.
You can make an argument he’s the best reliever in baseball right now, he’s better than Chapman, better than [Dellin] Betances, better than Craig Kimbrel, anyone you throw out there. If the Yankees don’t pull the trigger, they’re out of their minds.
Miller, who Olney considers to be a ‘golden ticket’, hasn’t been deemed available just yet, largely in fact to New York’s current place in the standings. But with a handful of division-leading clubs scrambling for a lights-out reliever with a week to go before the non-waiver trade deadline, Miller sticks out among the rest.
While it is not in Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner’s interest to engage in a full sell-off, the common goal of New York’s brass is to accumulate younger talent, and with the prospect haul accepted for Chapman, an assembled deal for Miller could be impossible to refuse.
In 43 games this season, Miller has struck out 75 hitters, and is due $18 million over the next two seasons.
You can listen to the entire podcast episode here, with the Miller conversation beginning at the 12:30 mark.
