The Reds received a big bag of nothing in return for Wade Miley

The Cincinnati Reds waived Wade Miley last Friday. The problem was not that the front office decided to move on from Miley, but that they received nothing in return.

Miley was an easy player to root for. A grizzled veteran, Miley was not going to overpower you with his stuff. But the crafty left-hander more than held his own in 2021.

The Reds received no compensation for Wade Miley.

The brutal honesty is that Wade Miley had an average season on the hill. The soon-to-be 35-year-old was 12-7 with a 3.37 ERA.

On the surface, those numbers look very good. However, diving a bit deeper into Miley's stats from last season reveal that he was arguably the Reds' fourth-best starting pitcher.

Tyler Mahle was the Cincinnati Reds best starting pitcher in 2021. While he put up some horrific numbers at home, Mahle finished the season with a 13-6 record and 3.75 ERA.

Mahle posted a 3.80 FIP, 3.74 xFIP, and 3.8 fWAR. That's head and shoulders above Miley who had a 3.97 FIP, 4.07 xFIP, and 2.9 fWAR.

Luis Castillo and Sonny Gray both had a better FIP and xFIP than Wade Miley, and had Gray started more than 26 games in 2021, you could argue that he'd have surpassed Miley in fWAR as well.

None of this is meant to take away from the performance that Miley put up last season. For a veteran pitcher on a relatively cheap contract ($8M in 2021), Miley gave the Reds a dependable left-handed starter.

But going into 2022, it's obvious that the Cincinnati Reds two former first-round picks (Hunter Greene and Nick Lodolo) will be joining the starting rotation.

It's a numbers game, and Wade Miley was the odd man out. Don't be shocked to see Luis Castillo or Sonny Gray shown the door later this offseason as well. However, I'd hope the Reds could collect more than the big bag of nothing they acquired by waiving Miley.

By waiving Miley, the Cincinnati Reds avoided paying the $1M buyout attached to his contract. The Reds would have been better served to pick up Miley's option and attempt to trade the lefty over the winter.

Reds GM Nick Krall said that he attempted to trade the left-hander prior to Friday, but had no takers for Miley. I find that a little hard to believe.

Could it be that opposing general managers were smart enough to realize that the Reds were desperate to move on from Miley, and instead of impulsively handing over a prospect decided to be patient and wait for Cincinnati to waive the southpaw?

I'll say it more time, and am likely echoing the sentiments of Reds Country. It's not that Wade Miley will be wearing a different uniform in 2022, but that the Reds received nothing for his s