D-backs complete deal, get Miller from Braves
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The D-backs have added another All-Star starter to their rotation, acquiring right-hander Shelby Miller and Minor Leaguer Gabe Speier from the Braves in exchange for outfielder Ender Inciarte and Minor Leaguers Aaron Blair and Dansby Swanson.
The deal was announced Wednesday morning.
The D-backs entered the offseason looking to upgrade their rotation by adding at least one starter.
Last Friday, they shocked the baseball world by signing free-agent right-hander Zack Greinke to a six-year, $206.5 million deal.
Miller, 25, was a first-round Draft pick (19th overall) by the Cardinals in 2009, and he was traded to the Braves prior to last season in a blockbuster deal that involved outfielder Jason Heyward.
Long regarded as a pitcher with top-of-the-rotation stuff, Miller posted career highs last year in innings pitched (205 1/3), strikeouts (171) and Baseball Reference's WAR metric (3.6).
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Miller pitched in extreme bad luck in 2015 as Atlanta failed to score a run when he was in the game 14 times, which helps explain why his record was 6-17 despite a 3.02 ERA. He did, however, get off to a 5-1 start and was selected to the All-Star Game.
Miller will be under club control via salary arbitration for the next three seasons.
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Greinke and Miller join a rotation that also figures to include Patrick Corbin, Rubby De La Rosa and Robbie Ray. Other pitchers, including Chase Anderson and Archie Bradley, will also compete during Spring Training.
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The D-backs managed to acquire Miller without having to part with prized outfielder A.J. Pollock, whom the Braves initially sought, but that doesn't mean Miller came cheap.
Swanson, a shortstop, was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2015 Draft and is also regarded as the top prospect in the D-backs' organization, while Blair, a right-handed pitcher, is the club's No. 3 prospect.
Swanson joins Adrian Gonzalez (2000, Marlins) and Shawn Abner (1984, Mets) as the only No. 1 overall picks to be traded by the team that drafted them before they reached the big leagues.
Inciarte had a breakthrough season last year, playing outstanding defense in all three outfield positions while hitting .303 with a .747 OPS mark.
Blair, who was selected with a sandwich pick after the first round in 2013, has risen quickly through Arizona's Minor League system, reaching Triple-A Reno last year.
With the acquisitions of Greinke and Miller, the D-backs' Opening Day payroll will likely be around $100 million, which is right around what they had said would be their limit.
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Fantasy spin | Fred Zinkie (@FredZinkieMLB)
Miller surged out of the gate with a 2.38 ERA during the first half of last season, but his post-All-Star-break mark (3.83) and lifetime 3.82 FIP combine to set a reasonable expectation for his first year with the D-backs. If he can win 12-14 games with a 3.80 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP, the 25-year-old would be a useful mixed-league hurler.
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Inciarte has the wheels and contact skills to give the Braves a quality top-of-the-order option. Although his counting-stat totals could be limited by Atlanta's light-hitting lineup, he could very well make mixed-league owners happy with a .290 average, 20 steals and 75 runs.
After registering a 2.92 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP across the top two Minor League levels in 2015, Blair is now part of a deep group of Atlanta pitching prospects. An Opening Day roster spot is not completely out of the question, and the 23-year-old will be a popular mixed-league addition as soon as he makes his big league debut.