Chicago Cubs News: Team claims Wade Miley off waivers

As the season of giving is approaching, the Chicago Cubs were gifted starting pitcher Wade Miley from the Cincinnati Reds on Friday. The Cubs claimed Miley off waivers on Friday after the starting pitcher was outrighted by the Reds.

The Reds were facing a deadline as they needed to act on Miley’s $10 million team option for the 2022 season. The deadline for the decision was Saturday and the Reds opted for waiving Miley in an effort to save $10 million.

The reason why the Cubs essentially finessed the Reds is that Cincinnati could have decided to pick up Miley’s $10 million option for the 2022 season and attempt to trade him or buy out the final year of Miley’s contract for $1 million. That is the same amount of money they saved by having the Cubs claim the veteran starting pitcher off waivers.

If the Reds would have attempted to trade Miley, the team would have found a taker. Miley had an incredible 2021 campaign with the Reds. He started 28 games for the Reds last season while posting a 3.37 ERA, 3.97 FIP, and 1.325 WHIP. Miley’s efforts during the 2021 season were good enough for him to post a 5.7 WAR per Baseball-Reference.

The Chicago Cubs are off to a great start with the claim of Wade Miley.

This was an impressive start to the off-season for Cubs. The biggest reason is that they may have already secured their No, 2 starting pitcher in their rotation. Hendricks will undoubtedly return next season as the team’s ace.

Miley, as the roster is currently constructed, should slide in right behind. Assuming that Miley offers the same level of production that he had during the 2021 season, $10 million is a steal. The idea of the Cubs being willing to take on $10 million right from the start of the off-season should not be overlooked either.

Entering the off-season, the belief was that the Cubs would sit out the early portions of the off-season as they have in recent years and wait for bargains towards the later portions of the off-season. Instead, the Cubs saw an opportunity to immediately improve their starting rotation and did not hesitate at committing only $10 million to do so.

This is not to state that the Cubs are back to spending and willing to hand out lucrative contracts to free agents this winter but it is a sign that the team is, at the very least, going to spend the money if an opportunity exists where it makes sense from a baseball and financial perspective.

Even after the addition of Miley, the Cubs will still be in the market for starting pitching. Kyle Hendricks, Wade Miley, and Adbert Alzolay will almost certainly be a part of the Cubs’ starting rotation in 2022.

Justin Steele, who was a part of the Cubs’ rotation during the second half of the 2021 season, will also get a look. At the very least, expect the Cubs to add one more starting pitcher but they could also look for more depending on how Steele progresses.