Astros sign Miley to 1-year contract
The Houston Astros have agreed to a one-year contract with free-agent left-hander Wade Miley, the team announced Friday.
Miley will earn a base salary of $4.5 million in 2019, and can bring in another $500,000 through incentives, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports.
Breakdown of Wade Miley's possible performance bonuses on top of his $4.5m salary with Houston: $100K for 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30 games started; $100K when he reaches 25, 35, 45, 55 and 60 relief appearances.
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) February 1, 2019
In Houston, Miley will provide manager A.J. Hinch with some much-needed rotation depth behind Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole. His presence should also allow top pitching prospect Forrest Whitley to get some more seasoning in the minors before potentially reaching the majors later in 2019.
Although Miley could replace free agent Dallas Keuchel, the Astros are reportedly still interested in re-signing the 2015 Cy Young Award winner, according to Nightengale.
The 32-year-old Miley pitched for the Milwaukee Brewers in 2018, and he turned in a career-best season for the NL Central champions despite injuries limiting him to just 16 starts. Although his strikeout numbers declined (he averaged just 5.6 strikeouts per nine innings), Miley posted a 2.57 ERA (159 ERA+), 1.22 WHIP, and 3.59 FIP during the regular season while allowing only three home runs.
He then rose to the occasion in the playoffs, posting a sparkling 1.23 ERA with nine strikeouts over 14 2/3 innings.
Despite his excellent performance for the Brewers, the team reportedly wasn't interested in re-signing Miley, according to Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.
For his career, Miley owns a 71-76 record with a 4.26 ERA, 1.39 WHIP, and 975 strikeouts across eight seasons with five teams.