How Tyson Miller can be part of the solution for Cubs bullpen
In the last year-and-a-half, Tyson Miller has been with six different MLB organizations.
He started that stretch with the Rangers, was claimed off waivers by the Brewers, moved on to the Dodgers, then the Mets, back to the Dodgers, signed as a free agent with the Mariners and was just traded to the Cubs Monday.
That is an awful lot of movement and at each stop, Miller has heard from his new coaches what they want him to work on and their own version of how he can find success in the majors.
He’s obviously hoping the carousel is done spinning and he carves out a long-term role with the Cubs, the team that drafted him back in 2016.
The Cubs would certainly welcome that, because it would mean Miller has pitched well and brought some stability to a precarious bullpen situation.
Miller knows Cubs pitching coach Tommy Hottovy from his time with the organization until he moved on to the Rangers in June 2021. And he played for Craig Counsell a year ago with the Brewers.
But it was his time in Seattle that has helped things click.
“New coaching staff, new eyes on you every two months was a little different,” Miller told reporters in Atlanta. “A lot of people try and tell you, ‘try this, try that.’ Mariners helped with just keeping it simple.
“We broke down year-by-year what they told me, what they liked me doing, what they banged on, changeup, this and that. So going through that with the Mariners, we had an hour-long meeting of, ‘this is what you’re good at, here’s the numbers to prove it, here’s video to show why it works.’ And so that gave me that little, ‘OK, that works, let’s keep doing that.'”
[WATCH: Tyson Miller explains his winding journey back to Cubs bullpen]
Shortly after flying all the way across the country, Miller suited up for the Cubs and toss 2 scoreless innings during Tuesday night’s 7-0 loss to the Braves.
He now has a 2.63 ERA and 0.73 WHIP with 13 strikeouts and only 1 walk in 13.2 innings this season.
The Mariners designated Miller for assignment last week when starting pitcher Bryan Woo was reinstated from the IL.
The Cubs don’t have the luxury to be picky right now with potential bullpen options and they chose to deal away minor league infielder Jake Slaughter for Miller Monday night. Veteran left-hander Richard Lovelady was designated for assignment to make room for Miller on the roster.
“Right now, this is depth,” Counsell told Marquee Sports Network’s Taylor McGregor Tuesday. “We’re adding numbers here. We did lose Richard Lovelady, but we’re trying to just raise the floor, if that makes sense.
“We’ve got injuries and we’ve got a number of players that are coming back. [They] are not coming back this week or probably next week but we need to make sure until we get to the time when we get some guys healthy that we have capable pitchers out there. This is an attempt to just get a little bit better, which is what we’re trying to do every day.”
The Cubs currently have 7 pitchers on the IL, including adding Adbert Alzolay (Monday) and Yency Almonte (Saturday) to the shelf in just the past couple of days.
That’s where Miller’s acquisition specifically carries value. Alzolay and Almonte were two of Craig Counsell’s main options against right-handed hitters and that’s an area Miller has succeeded, allowing opposing righties to hit just .138 with a .400 OPS against him this season.
Miller tweaked his slider grip this spring with the Mariners and it has led to immediate success against righties.
“It’s been crucial,” Miller said. “Still need to work on getting lefties out. But a righty specialist is what they keep calling me.”
Miller initially came up as a starter with a wider array of pitches. He will still occasionally throw a changeup or curveball but he has really whittled it down to a fastball-slider mix.
“Safe to say that we’re looking for any good pitcher and any good reliever right now,” Cubs GM Carter Hawkins told reporters Tuesday in Atlanta. “We will continue to do that. His profile happened to be one that can get right-handers out and fits well with some of the injuries we’ve had.
“But we certainly won’t be picky as we’re looking for upgrades and we’ll continue to make sure we’re canvasing every opportunity for that.”