The Baltimore Orioles acquired Wade Miley to help bolster their starting rotation. However, his recent starts have been anything but a success.
The Baltimore Orioles acquired Wade Miley at the trade deadline for moments like Monday night. The Orioles were in Boston to open a three-game series in which they were fighting for their playoff lives. Things couldn’t have gone worse for Miley and Baltimore. In 1.1 IP he surrendered 6 ER, and the Red Sox knocked off the Orioles 12-2. The loss left Baltimore three back in the division and in desperate need of wins tonight and tomorrow.
Few analysts expected the Orioles to compete in the AL East this season. For example, none of the 31 experts surveyed in ESPN’s pre-season predictions picked Baltimore to win the division. Yet on July 31 the Orioles found themselves with a half-game lead over Toronto, but in desperate need of healthy starting pitching. The team acquired Miley to help solve this problem, but he’s currently having one of the worst stretches of his career.
Miley started 19 games for the Mariners before being dealt. In those 19 starts he was 7-8 with a 4.98 ERA, but he had shown signs of improvement. In his final two starts as a Mariner the left-hander had surrendered 3 ER in 13 total innings. Miley was by no means a high profile acquisition, but as Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors notes the Orioles were “hamstrung” in their attempts to acquire a quality starter due to their lack of top prospects. Miley was an affordable option who was trending in the right direction.
Unfortunately for the Orioles, Miley’s eight starts in Baltimore have been a disaster. Over 35.1 innings he’s posted an 8.41 ERA, and opposing batters are hitting .351/.405/.556 off of the 29-year-old. This is shaping up to be the worst season of his six-year career. Miley rose to prominence during his rookie season in Arizona. In 2012 he made the All-Star team and finished second in Rookie of the Year voting, but he’s struggled to recapture that magic ever since.
The Orioles did receive some good news this week regarding the rotation thanks to the return of Chris Tillman. Tillman and Kevin Gausman have carried the load for the rotation this season. Yet if Baltimore wants to make the post-season they’ll have to get something productive out of a group of starters including Miley, Ubaldo Jimenez, Yovani Gallardo and Dylan Bundy.
As of this morning Baseball Prospectus had Baltimore’s playoff odds at 44.4 percent. If they can get a few quality starts, maybe even an unexpected one from Miley, and catch a few breaks, there is still a chance this team will be playing meaningful baseball in October.
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