Brewers close to re-signing former All-Star starting pitcher?

It seems that the Brewers and Wade Miley are moving closer to reuniting, with The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal suggesting that a deal between the two parties will likely come together in the next few days. Miley previously pitched for Milwaukee in 2018 and returned to the team last season under a one-year, $4.5 million deal with a mutual option for 2024, which, as expected with most mutual options, wasn't exercised. Miley opted out and took a $1 million buyout, allowing him to enter free agency.

Although Miley faced elbow soreness and a lat strain, limiting him to 120 1/3 innings last season, it marked a significant improvement from his injury-plagued 2022 with the Cubs. Despite a solid 3.14 ERA over the mentioned innings, advanced metrics, such as a 5.04 SIERA, were less impressed. Miley's performance was aided by a low .234 BABIP and an 81.6% strand rate, and his strikeout rate of 16.1% ranked in the eighth percentile among pitchers.

Throughout his 13-year career, Miley, primarily a groundball pitcher, hasn't been a high-strikeout hurler, relying on inducing grounders (with a 49% career groundball rate) and soft contact. Notably, Miley has excelled at limiting hard contact in recent years, boasting a 31.3% hard-hit ball rate in 2023, among the league's best.

Despite varying results in his career due to fluctuating BABIP, the Brewers are still interested in Miley's contributions, both on and off the field, considering him a clubhouse leader. It's likely that Miley will sign another reasonably priced one-year contract, possibly with an option for the 2025 season—an attractive prospect for the Brewers, given their budget constraints and the need for additional rotation depth.

If Miley rejoins, he'll join Corbin Burnes, Freddy Peralta, Adrian Houser, and the re-signed Colin Rea as the projected starting five. The team also has depth options, including Janson Junk, top prospect Robert Gasser, and the returning Aaron Ashby from a injury-affected 2023 season. However, there's speculation about the potential trade of Burnes before his final year of team control.