Detroit Tigers Should Sign Andrew Miller As Part Of Effort To Rebuild Bullpen

By Brad Faber @Brad_Faber on October 11, 2014

Nearly seven years ago, the Detroit Tigers pulled off an unforgettable deal, making top prospects Andrew Miller and Cameron Maybin the centerpieces of a six-player package that was sent to the then-Florida Marlins in exchange for Miguel Cabrera and Dontrelle Willis. At the time, Miller was just 22 years old, and he was already drawing constant comparisons to future Hall-of-Famer Randy Johnson.

While Miller never blossomed into the type of starting pitcher the Marlins hoped he would be, he later carved out a niche as a reliever with the Boston Red Sox, making the full-time transition to the bullpen in 2012.

This past summer, the Red Sox decided to make Miller available, and the Tigers were reportedly close to re-acquiring him, but he was ultimately traded to the Baltimore Orioles instead. Miller would post a combined 5-5 record, a 2.02 ERA and an 0.80 WHIP during his time with the Red Sox and Orioles this season. He also struck out an eye-popping 103 batters in 62.1 innings pitched.

Ironically enough, Miller ran into the Tigers during the 2014 ALDS, twirling 3.1 shutout innings while racking up three strikeouts in Baltimore’s three-game sweep of Detroit. For as shaky as the Tigers’ bullpen was in 2014 — posting a 4.29 ERA in the regular season and a 19.29 ERA in the postseason — Miller would have obviously been a nice weapon for Detroit to have.

Heading into the offseason, the Tigers will obviously need to address their relief pitching. Detroit will need to make hard choices on the futures of Joba Chamberlain, Phil Coke and Jim Johnson, each of whom will become free agents, and they will also need to decide on whether to pick up Joakim Soria‘s $7 million club option for next season. It should be interesting to see if the soon-to-be 40-year-old Joe Nathan remains the team’s closer as well.

Other stories to keep tabs on include the return of hard-throwing Bruce Rondon, who was sidelined for the entire 2014 season due to Tommy John surgery, and what will happen with Joel Hanrahan, who was inked to a one-year deal back in May, but never became healthy enough to suit up for the Tigers and contribute.

Detroit may be able to take another crack at bringing Miller back to the Motor City, too. A free-agent-to-be, Miller will likely be able to command a multi-year deal and a rather sizable payday, but he would be worth it. Signing him may be the perfect place for the Tigers to begin in their effort to reconstruct their bullpen.

Brad Faber is a Detroit Tigers writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @Brad_Faber, “Like” him on Facebook, or add him to your network on LinkedIn or Google.