Cincinnati Reds: Ranking the free agent signings this offseason

5. Wade Miley, Left-handed pitcher

Two-year/$15M deal

Okay, to be clear, I love the Wade Miley signing. I think the Reds should have made a push to sign the former Milwaukee Brewer last offseason. So, ranking Miley No. 5 doesn’t speak so much to the idea that it’s a bad acquisition, but rather how good the other four signings are. Miley signed a two-year/$15M deal with Cincinnati.

Miley had a fantastic year with the Houston Astros last season. The left-hander went 14-6 with a 3.98 ERA. Miley struck out 140 batters in 167.1 innings of work. In 2018, Miley started 16 games for the Milwaukee Brewers. Miley went 5-2 with a 2.52 ERA. Miley is a workhorse, starting 29 or more games in seven of the past eight seasons.

So why rank Miley so low? First, of all, I think it’s debatable as to whether or not Miley is an upgrade over last year’s starter Tyler Mahle. No, Mahle did not have a great season for Cincinnati, going 3-12 with a 5.14 ERA. However, according to FanGraphs, Mahle has a higher strikeout-rate and a lower walk-rate than Miley.

Wade Miley will be a solid addition to the Reds starting rotation, especially if the player we saw between between March and August shows up. During those 28 starts, Miley went 13-4 with a 3.06 ERA for Houston. However, Miley got lit up in September, throwing only 11.1 innings in five starts to the tune of 16.68 ERA.