BREAKING: the Reds have agreed to a two-year $15 million deal with left-handed relief pitcher Wade Miley.

Miley is 33 years old and a former 1st round draft pick. He went 14-6 with a 3.98 ERA for the Astros last year. The previous season he posted a 2.57 ERA in Milwaukee.

— Reds Baseball Take (@CincyRedsTake) December 17, 2019

Less expensive than Price. I like this signing.

#reds rotation for 2020: Castillo, Gray, Bauer, Miley, DeSclafani. Not too shabby.

— Mark Sheldon (@m_sheldon) December 17, 2019

Wade Miley had 3-4 other teams bidding for him, with at least one other multi-year offer in hand. Reuniting with pitching coach Derek Johnson, with whom he had great success in Milwaukee, was an important factor in his decision to sign with Cincinnati.

— Mark Feinsand (@Feinsand) December 17, 2019

(12-17-2019, 12:25 AM)psychdoctor Wrote:

Wade Miley had 3-4 other teams bidding for him, with at least one other multi-year offer in hand. Reuniting with pitching coach Derek Johnson, with whom he had great success in Milwaukee, was an important factor in his decision to sign with Cincinnati.

— Mark Feinsand (@Feinsand) December 17, 2019

Go Reds!

Good, solid veteran lefty. Not bad. Now let’s get that OF bat.

The Reds were in desperate need of LH pitchers, another one in bull pen would be nice as well. Lets hope it works out.

Love it! Pretty dam good looking rotation!

Daaamn. That's a good signing!
Reasonable price for a pitcher who had an incredible 2018 under our pitching coach (in Milwaukee) and then had a very good season in Houston, before a disastrous September.
2018: 16 GS 80.2 IP 71 H 28 R 23 ER 3 HR 27 BB 50 SO 5 W 2 L 1.5 WAR 1.21 WHIP 2.57 ERA
2019 March to August: 28 GS 156 IP 136 H 62 R 53 ER 21 HR 54 BB 134 SO 13 W 4 L ~2.0 WAR 1.22 WHIP 3.06 ERA
2019 September to October: 6 GS 14 IP 32 H 24 R 23 ER 3 HR 8 BB 7 SO 1 W 2 L ~ 0 WAR 2.86 WHIP 14.79 ERA

So his 2019 season, up to September, was pretty much in line with his 2018 season. Same WHIP, relatively close ERA, a better WAR (his total WAR for 2019 was 2.0. I'm not sure how it split between the two sections of 2019, but I think it's safe to say September brought his WAR down, so it must have been higher than 2.0 going into September), an improved K/9 and an improved K/BB.

I have no idea what happened in September but, even with his full 2019 line, he had two straight very impressive years. A switch must have been flipped during his season in Milwaukee and it'll be interesting to see how he plays for the Reds.

And the best thing is, if he does fall back into his previous self (relatively mediocre), then he'll only be on the team through 2021 and his salary isn't a killer. And even his worst season, 2017, was still not Homer Bailey level bad!
2017: 32 GS 157.1 IP 179 H 104 R 98 ER 25 HR 91 BB 142 SO 8 W 15 L -0.3 WAR 1.73 WHIP 5.61 ERA

A strong signing overall. Now we can use Mahle as a 6th starter in case of injuries, which is probably his best suited role. Maybe they should try him in the bullpen a little bit.

(12-17-2019, 01:44 AM)bengalfan74 Wrote: The Reds were in desperate need of LH pitchers, another one in bull pen would be nice as well. Lets hope it works out.

Is it actually necessary/advantageous to have a LH starter in your rotation?

And with the rules around pitching changes coming into force, will it still be as necessary to have as many in the bullpen?

With Moustakas and Miley additions, combine raises the Red's projected record to 87-90 wins. That should get them in the playoffs. Maybe win the division. I still think they add an OF with a decent WAR to bring them closer to 92 wins.

I like this move for several reasons. The contract is cheap and allows the Reds to add a Castellanos. 6 Mil for the first year and still tradable with 9 Mil on the second year. He was having a great year until the end of last year. I was concerned that he fell off of the cliff at the end of last year due to injury but I’m hearing that he started tipping his pitches. This also makes the team flexible with Bauer, Disco and Mahle at the trade deadline. If Bauer pitches like he did last year then he’s way overrated. This just gives the team so many options to make on the fly, if needed. They need to add a big bat now and this should be a playoff team. Iglesias will still need to be able to close out leads though and Bell can’t give away the 10-12 games that he did last year. 2020 is starting to feel like an exciting season guys!

(12-17-2019, 05:06 PM)Circleville Guy Wrote: I like this move for several reasons. The contract is cheap and allows the Reds to add a Castellanos. 6 Mil for the first year and still tradable with 9 Mil on the second year. He was having a great year until the end of last year. I was concerned that he fell off of the cliff at the end of last year due to injury but I’m hearing that he started tipping his pitches. This also makes the team flexible with Bauer, Disco and Mahle at the trade deadline. If Bauer pitches like he did last year then he’s way overrated. This just gives the team so many options to make on the fly, if needed. They need to add a big bat now and this should be a playoff team. Iglesias will still need to be able to close out leads though and Bell can’t give away the 10-12 games that he did last year. 2020 is starting to feel like an exciting season guys!

I read the same thing, that Miley was tipping his pitches. If true perhaps Johnson can fix the problem and we'll see a very successful starting rotation this season.

(12-18-2019, 11:52 AM)grampahol Wrote: I read the same thing, that Miley was tipping his pitches. If true perhaps Johnson can fix the problem and we'll see a very successful starting rotation this season.

It won’t be a bad thing to face pitchers vs. DH’s either. I’m just past ready for baseball!

Bullpen help is just what was needed. Glad for the signing. We may just have winning baseball back in Cincy.

(12-18-2019, 04:24 PM)guyofthetiger Wrote: Bullpen help is just what was needed. Glad for the signing. We may just have winning baseball back in Cincy.

Except he'll be in the starting rotation and not the bullpen. The signing was made official.

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2019/12/reds-to-sign-wade-miley.html

Do you move Mahle to the pen or keep him in AAA for insurance? Santillan and Lodolo are coming up down the pike and Hunter Greene begins his comeback for a few years later. Mahle's chances to contribute on the MLB team as a starter may be coming to an end. I like him, but I think he could do better in the pen than Sal Romano. Mahle knows how to throw a 92 MPH fastball and sometimes dials it up to 96. Sal Romano knows how to throw a fastball as hard as he can on every pitch.

I think that Kuhnel has a chance to do well in the pen. From what little that I saw, he could develop into one hell of a setup man down the road.

(12-19-2019, 09:12 PM)Forever Spinning Vinyl Wrote: Do you move Mahle to the pen or keep him in AAA for insurance? Santillan and Lodolo are coming up down the pike and Hunter Greene begins his comeback for a few years later. Mahle's chances to contribute on the MLB team as a starter may be coming to an end. I like him, but I think he could do better in the pen than Sal Romano. Mahle knows how to throw a 92 MPH fastball and sometimes dials it up to 96. Sal Romano knows how to throw a fastball as hard as he can on every pitch.

I think that Kuhnel has a chance to do well in the pen. From what little that I saw, he could develop into one hell of a setup man down the road.

I'd like Mahle in the pen we sure need the help ! Plus he could be used as an emergency starter should the need arise.

(12-19-2019, 09:22 PM)bengalfan74 Wrote: I'd like Mahle in the pen we sure need the help ! Plus he could be used as an emergency starter should the need arise.

I often think Mahle's calling card may be long relief when starters just don't have "it" on any given day. Malhe can often go 4+ innings doing great before falling off the cliff in the 5th and beyond. it's rare he gets blown out before the 3rd inning, but he could be a darn good innings eater out of the bullpen. Then again "I wanna grow up and be a long relief pitcher." said no kid ever.. Mahle has the potential to be the most expensive long relief guy in baseball history someday. Excuse me if I never can remember if it's Mahle or Malhe..

(12-19-2019, 09:22 PM)bengalfan74 Wrote: I'd like Mahle in the pen we sure need the help ! Plus he could be used as an emergency starter should the need arise.

The Reds have NEVER needed an emergency starter except for the many times they have..

(12-21-2019, 12:19 PM)grampahol Wrote: The Reds have NEVER needed an emergency starter except for the many times they have..

Guess you don't remember Hoover ?

Wait he wasn't a starter was he ? Now I'm confused