Yankees Could Look to Arizona in Search for Starting Pitching Help

Shelby Miller

As with Greinke, the new Arizona front office may be more willing to trade Shelby Miller this offseason because they were not the ones who paid such a steep price to bring him in.

Miller was a complete disaster in 2016, with a 6.15 ERA and 4.87 FIP in 101 IP. His run prevention improved during his final six starts after returning from a stint in the minors (3.92 ERA in 31.2 IP), but the underlying peripherals are still worrying.

At age 25, there is plenty of reason to think a more competent club could turn Miller around. He accumulated 8.6 wins above replacement in his previous three seasons for Atlanta and St. Louis.

His mechanics are clearly are clearly a complete mess at this point. The fact that he injured his hand by scraping his knuckles on the ground back in April are a pretty good indication of that. The Yankees have a solid track record of fixing pitchers that Arizona messed up in recent years. Both Brandon McCarthy and Tyler Clippard flourished after leaving the desert for the Bronx.

The problem is it’s not really clear how to value Miller. Obviously he’s not worth what he was last winter, but the Diamondbacks also can’t just give him away. New York would need to be pretty confident in their ability to get him right to surrender top prospects for him.

The upside to acquiring Miller at a discount is tremendous. If it works out, the Yankees would be acquiring two seasons of a legitimate number two starter. I would guess at least one top 100 type guy would be necessary to land him, meaning Clint Frazier, Gleyber Torres, Jorge Mateo, Aaron Judge, Blake Rutherford, or Justus Sheffield.

I wouldn’t be thrilled about giving up any of those guys for Miller, although I can appreciate why someone might want to make that move.