Wade Miley Claimed Off of the Waiver Wire By Chicago Cubs

The Reds have kept me busy this week. Unfortunately, it hasn’t been the fun type of busy.

Details first. 

Wade Miley has been claimed off waivers by the Chicago Cubs. 

Let’s keep things short and sweet here. Wade Miley was terrific for the Reds during the 2021 season. There’s a solid argument that he should have made the All-Star team. Over the course of the season, he pitched to a 3.37 ERA and was good for an incredible 6 WAR. As good as Nick Castellanos was last season, Wade Miley generated more wins. 

Why Did the Reds Do This?

Wade Miley was arguably the Red’s best pitcher last year, and he’s not super expensive either. So, what would motivate the Reds to get rid of him?

Money.

Don’t take it from me. Remember, Nick Krall just a few days ago talked publicly about needing to align the Red’s payroll to their financial resources. By losing Miley, the Reds don’t have to pay his $10 million next year. It’s not an exciting or fun reason to lose a solid veteran player, but it makes sense on a certain level.

What doesn’t make sense at all is how the Reds got rid of Miley. As an inexpensive quality starting pitcher, one would assume that Miley would be able to fetch a decent return in a trade. If you’re going into a rebuild, why not rebuild the right way?

Unfortunately, by placing him on waivers and allowing him to get claimed by the Cubs, the Reds essentially gave Wade Miley away for free.

Let that sink in for a minute.

The complete ineptitude of Nick Krall and the Castellini family astounds me. 

Don’t be surprised, my fellow Reds fans, when they try to put a positive spin on why this was necessary. They’ll talk about how the emergence of Vladimir Gutierrez, with Hunter Greene and Nick Lodolo in the wings, made this move possible. Don’t be fooled by any of this though. This move was about saving money, plain and simple. Nick Krall literally said that aligning payroll to financial resources was the priority. 

Don’t believe them when they say they’re trying to win. They’re not. They’re racing to the bottom. If they were interested in putting a competitive team on the field, they’d either open up the checkbook or they’d trade valuable players away for solid prospects for the future. Today, they literally let last season’s best starter go-for free-to a division rival.

This team has zero interest in being competitive. I’ll write more on that later.

For right now, I’m fed up. 

Happy Friday y’all.