Yankees News: Is Miller the Best Closer in Baseball?

The New York Yankees closer’s stats are astonishing. A perfect 10-for-10 in save opportunities, a 0.00 ERA, a 0.68 WHIP and 23 strikeouts over 13.1 innings. No, it is not 2009, and no, it is not Mariano Rivera. It is the best reliever in baseball, Andrew Miller.

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The Yankees stirred some controversy this offseason amongst fans and critics when they decided to let David Robertson walk. The rationale wasn’t that D-Rob wasn’t good, it was that he was going to command too much money for a closer with one solid season under his belt. Instead, the Yankees brought in Andrew Miller and several other arms to form a Super Bullpen, that many thought would be anchored by Dellin Betances.

Betances has been sensational himself thus far as the set-up man, but Miller has really risen to the occasion. Michael Silverman of the Boston Globe recently wrote an article talking about Miller as not only the catch that the Red Sox let get away, but the difference maker between the Red Sox and the Yankees. We all saw that first hand this weekend in the Red Sox and Yankees bout in Fenway. Miller closed out two games in the 3-game sweep by the Yankees.

The Red Sox – who Miller had played for from 2011 until he was traded last season at the deadline to the Orioles for Eduardo Rodriguez – made a play at Miller in the offseason, but like most teams, couldn’t match the Yankees offer. It wasn’t just the money, though. It was the equal chance of winning.

"“To me, it was just a little bit of how much are (the Red Sox) going to spend on the bullpen, that might be a limiting factor on their end, but not on mine at all,” Miller told Silverman. “Going someplace to close wasn’t important, going someplace to win was, someplace I felt like was going to give me a chance to play on a good team like the good Boston teams, that’s what I want to be a part of. It didn’t work out with Boston, I’m glad they were in it and made a run for it, but this wound up being the best fit for me.”"

The 29-year old left hander has been one of the better back end of the bullpen fixtures in the American League since he converted from a starter when joining the Red Sox. Until now, however, he has never been a closer. It seems like it was a role that was made for him.

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“Who knows where we go from here — it’s nice to get some saves under my belt and have a baseline, but it’s tough to say about closing,” Miller told Silverman. “I’ve never done it, got nothing to back it up. Still, it’s nice to have a few and it’s nice to get off to a good start.”

A good start just so happens to be the best closer in baseball right now. He leads the big leagues in saves and is a large part of why the Yankees are surprising the American League and sitting atop the AL East by three games. It has only been a month, but it looks like the Yankees may have struck gold this off season.