Andrew Miller Would Give New York Yankees the Best Bullpen in Baseball
By Christopher Gamble
@chriswgamble
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Andrew Miller’s free agency comes at the perfect time for the New York Yankees. The team has already said it will pass on the big starting pitchers like James Shields, Jon Lester and Max Scherzer. The offense needs help but much of that help has to come from guys already under contract. While the Yankees will add some offense this offseason they might add their biggest piece in the bullpen.
Obviously, the Yankees already extended a qualifying offer to David Robertson and the team hopes to sign him to a multi-year deal. There is already Dellin Betances and Adam Warren. However, the Yankees do lack a left-handed reliever and there is where Miller comes in.
Miller, who turns 30 in May, is coming off of a season that saw him strike out 103 batters in 73 innings with a 2.02 ERA and 0.80 WHIP with the Boston Red Sox and Baltimore Orioles. More importantly, Miller is a lefty who can get right-handed hitters out which would allow more flexibility for Joe Girardi in the bullpen. Miller held righties to a .145/.245/.202 slash line in 144 plate appearances and lefties to a .163/.206/.261 line in 98 plate appearances.
Adding Miller to a bullpen with Betances, Robertson and Warren at the back end instantly makes the bullpen one of the best, if not the best, in baseball. Throw in Shawn Kelley, Jacob Lindgren, last year’s top pick, and David Phelps and the Yankees’ bullpen looks deeper and better than anything they have put out there in recent memory.
The Yankees are looking to bring back Brandon McCarthy and have been linked to Jason Hammel and Kenta Maeda among others. None would break the bank and all would add depth to a Yankees’ rotation that has a ton of questions. That would allow the Yankees to spend elsewhere like Robertson, Miller and Chase Headley.
Bringing Robertson back and adding Miller could essentially make any game the Yankees are winning a six inning game. Opposing teams might as well give up and go home facing Miller, Betances and Robertson. With so many question marks among the rotation it only makes sense to add several pieces to both the rotation and the bullpen instead of spending on one pitcher like Scherzer.
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