Wade Miley looks like he's ready to return to the big leagues. After undergoing elbow surgery last season, Miley has made several rehab starts. His latest, a five-inning shutout performance for the Louisville Bats, signaled that he's ready to make his return to the Cincinnati Reds active roster. But how exactly will the Reds reshuffle their crowded rotation?
Miley toed the rubber this past Tuesday and logged five innings while allowing just two hits and one walk. The lefty struck out two of the 17 batters he faced and didn't allow a single runner to dent the plate. This was Miley's best (and longest) performance of his rehab stint.
Technically these rehab assignments have a shelf life of only 30 days, but because Miley experienced a setback after his second start at High-A Dayton, there's some wiggle room for the Reds. But within the coming days, Cincinnati will have to make a decision, and it's not going to be an easy one.
How will the Reds integrate Wade Miley into the starting rotation?
The first thing you look at in these situations is who has minor-league options remaining. Unfortunately, that won't help Cincinnati much at all. Among their current crop of starters, only Hunter Greene, Nick Lodolo, and Andrew Abbott have options remaining. That trio represents the top-3 starters in the Reds rotation, and they're not going anywhere.
The Reds could always release a player in order to activate Miley from the IL. But Nick Martinez has been playing lights out of late and Cincinnati owes him $21.05 million. Brady Singer is under contract for $8.75 million, and while his last few starts have been shaky at best, the right-hander isn't going to be DFA'd in order to recall Miley to the big leagues.
The Reds could move someone from the rotation to the bullpen in order to open up a spot. Martinez has plenty of experience as a reliever, but has turned in five straight quality starts punctuated by a 1.74 ERA and 2.27 FIP. It would be absolutely insane for the Reds to move Martinez to the bullpen right now.
The club could decide to move Singer to the pen, but he's made just three relief appearances in his career and hasn't done so since 2022. Miley himself has seven appearances out of the bullpen throughout his career, doing so twice with the Reds in 2020.
Miley signed a minor-league contract this past winter that will pay him $2.5 million if and when he's selected to join the major league roster. His deal also contains an opt-out on June 1, so the clock is ticking for the Reds to make a decision. Based on the way the Reds rotation has performed thus far, barring injury, it's difficult to see Miley returning to the active roster as a member of Cincinnati's starting rotation.