St. Louis Cardinals sign two year deal with Andrew Miller

In typical St. Louis Cardinals style, the team has been making high-quality moves in the Hot Stove season. Their latest move, adding Andrew Miller, falls under that category.

After the epic signing of Paul Goldschmidt, the St. Louis Cardinals appear to be close to making another significant signing.

This time, the target is uber-reliever Andrew Miller., who has been signed to a two year deal with a vesting option for a third year.

Miller has been with the Cleveland Indians since 2016 when he earned the MVP in the ALCS against the Blue Jays. He was practically unhittable in that series, earning a WHIP of 0.391 in 7.2 innings pitched. He struck out 14 of the 25 batters he faced and did not allow any runs. Since the 2016 playoffs, he hasn’t quite been the same.

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He earned two consecutive invitations to the All-Star Game in 2016 and 2017. And rightfully so with his 2016 ERA being 1.45 and his 2017 ERA being 1.44.

Unfortunately, he spent a significant part of 2018 injured with three stints on the DL. He had issues with his left shoulder, right knee, and left-hamstring.

In his 13 seasons, he has a career ERA of 3.98, but he had an ERA of 4.24 in 34 innings of work in 2018.

The Cards have made some interesting choices with their recent signings. It seems as if the team is specifically choosing to sign players who have seen success against their arch rival – the Chicago Cubs.

For example, Goldschmidt has hit an impressive .255/.389/.480 against current Cubs pitching. His numbers against Jon Lester are .500/.571/.750 in 12 at-bats. And, against Jose Quintana he is hitting .500/.556/.1.375 in 8 at-bats.

Then, there’s Andrew Miller, who owned the Cubs in the World Series in 2016 (even though the Cubs defeated the Indians in seven close games). Against the current Cubs lineup, the Cubs are hitting .213/.327/.362 against him. In 56 plate appearances, only Ben Zobrist has hit a home run off of Miller. Zobrist was the World Series MVP in 2016 – thanks, in part, to that home run.

Miller’s left-handed arm will complement the heavily right-handed St. Louis Cardinals bullpen that includes Luke Gregerson, Jordan Hicks, and John Gant. Brett Cecil and Chasen Shreve are the only lefties in the pen.