Wade Miley Appreciation Post

Let's give some love to the lefty, even if no one else will

Wade Miley threw seven scoreless innings against the Padres on Sunday, surrendering only four hits while striking out eight and walking none in a Brewers victory.

Not a bad day at the ballpark.

It wasn’t too long ago that nobody wanted the left-hander.

On May 7, 2021, Miley threw a no-hitter at Cleveland. Five months later, he was claimed off waivers by the Cubs.

There wasn’t one specific incident that spawned last season’s lockout after the Collective Bargaining Agreement expired on December 1, 2021. That doesn’t mean, however, that Wade Miley wasn’t representative of an industry-wide problem.

After the 2021 season, the Reds held a $10 million club option on Miley for the following year. Ownership in Cincinnati had no interest in spending that kind of money. That same ownership, publicly represented by president and CEO Phil Castellini, also had no interest in paying the $1 million buyout. Efforts to find a trade partner proved fruitless, so the Reds placed Miley on outright waivers.

The waiver wire represented an opportunity for the Reds to free themselves of all financial obligations, and the Cubs obliged.

The problem for baseball was that six teams who had waiver priority ahead of Chicago — the Orioles, Diamondbacks, Rangers, Pirates, Nationals and Marlins — passed on his services.