Claimed by Cubs Miley (neck) was claimed off waivers by the Cubs on Friday. Impact The veteran lefty's underlying numbers may not fully support his 3.37 ERA this season, but seeing him land on waivers was still a surprise. He didn't strike out many batters (18.1 percent), but he avoided walks (7.2 percent) and kept the ball on the ground at a 49.4 percent clip, leading to a 3.97 FIP and 4.07 xFIP. If his ERA regresses to match those estimators next season, the Cubs will likely still be quite happy to have him at a modest $10 million, though there's of course some risk that he regresses far more than that in his age-35 season. Miley missed the tail end of the regular season with a neck strain, but there's been no indication that it's the type of injury which will delay his preparation for spring training.
NOVEMBER 5, 2021 • ROTOWIRE
