The Cleveland Indians made a big move to bolster their bullpen on Sunday, acquiring All-Star left-hander Andrew Miller from the New York Yankees for a package of prospects.
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Adding onto the bounty for Chapman, which included two top 100 prospects and one in the top 25 (on most evaluation lists), NY struck again, dealing Miller, acquiring: Elite outfield prospect, Clint Frazier, lefty starter Justus Sheffield and a pair of relievers in J.P Feyereisen and Ben Heller.
Miller, 31, has gone 6-1 with 9 saves and a 1.39 ERA in 44 relief outings in 2016 for the New York Yankees (45.1IP, 28H, 8R/7ER, 7BB, 77SO, .174AVG).
Miller owns a career ERA of 2.72 with Detroit, Florida, Boston, Baltimore and NY.
Betances, who has a 2.50 ERA, 27 holds and 89 strikeouts in 50 1/3 innings across 50 appearances this season, now slides into the closer role after the Yankees traded both Miller and LHP Aroldis Chapman.
Miller spoke with reporters in NY following the trade. Then came a separate deal landing veteran reliever Tyler Clippard in pinstripes from the Diamondbacks.
The last time the Indians traded for a power lefty for the back end of the bullpen during a first-place season, John Rocker thought himself a closer but his performance quickly mounted a strong counter argument. He pitched 2⅓perfect innings and picked up a win and save in two appearances against the RailRiders at PNC Field in June.
MIAMI – Left-handed pitcher Zach Duke was traded by the Chicago White Sox to the St. Louis Cardinals for minor league outfielder Charlie Tilson.
The Cleveland Indians now sit in first place in the American League Central. Chris Tillman and Kevin Gausman are the only Baltimore starters who have been solid this season.
Miley has a 4.98 ERA overall but had a 3.45 ERA in five July starts.
Rookie left-hander Blake Snell struck out nine over 5 1/3 innings, Luke Maile had a key two-run single and the Rays completed a three-game sweep by beating the Yankees 5-3 on Sunday.
Miley is owed $2.13 million for the rest of this season and $8.75 million in 2017.
Miranda, 27, was signed to a minor league contract by the Orioles last May after he defected from Cuba. For one, he believes in his players getting comfortable and knows even a move in the same time zone can be unsettling halfway through a season. He made his debut Saturday for the Gulf Coast League Astros, going 0 for 3 with two strikeouts.
However, there isn’t any updated word about the Indians and their alleged deal that would send Milwaukee Brewers catcher Jonathan Lucroy to the Indians.
It wasn’t long ago that baseball’s critics lamented that teams like the Yankees will always have a competitive advantage and teams like the Indians will never be able to compete.
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Lucroy could still accept the trade, but a number of reports had the Indians moving on to other offensive options. Lucroy still needs to approve the trade as the Indians were one of the eight teams on his no-trade list.
