The Tigers’ holiday shopping for pitching continued Friday with a last-minute deal. The team signed veteran right-hander Shelby Miller to a one-year, $3 million contract with a $4.25 million club option for 2025.
The contract includes up to $1,175,000 in performance bonuses for 2024 and 2025: $100,000 each for 50, 55 and 60 games pitched, $150,000 for 70 games pitched and $150,000 each for 40, 45, 50 and 55 games finished. Miller can also boost his 2025 base salary by up to $1.4 million in performance incentives in 2024: $100,000 each for 50, 55 and 60 games pitched, $150,000 each for 65 and 70 games pitched and $200,000 each for 40, 45, 50 and 55 games finished.
The 33-year-old Miller, a former first-round pick in 2009 and starter with the Cardinals, Braves, D-backs and Rangers, enjoyed a career renaissance of sorts last season out of the Dodgers bullpen, allowing just 19 hits over 42 innings with a 3-0 record, one save and a 1.71 ERA.
Miller’s campaign was interrupted around midseason by a neck issue that led to a stint on the 60-day injured list. He returned at the end of August and tossed 12 scoreless innings on seven hits with a walk and 11 strikeouts down the stretch. While he primarily worked in single-inning stints, he posted a half-dozen two-inning performances, including his final outing of the regular season and his lone postseason appearance, tossing two scoreless innings with three strikeouts against the Diamondbacks in Game 1 of the NL Division Series.
Though Miller boasted a wide arsenal during his starting days, he has whittled his repertoire out of the bullpen to a 93-94 mph fastball, a mid-80s split-finger and a slider. After throwing more sliders than fastballs during brief MLB stints in 2022, Miller flipped the ratio last season, throwing nearly 60 percent fastballs. Opponents hit just .211 off his heater despite a 95.5 mph average exit velocity, according to Statcast.
Miller’s split, a pitch he had used in small doses in previous seasons, became an effective out pitch for him last season, drawing a 28.6 percent whiff rate, 26.1 percent putaway rate, .118 batting average allowed and 85.1 mph average exit velocity.
Miller’s 19 walks in 42 innings were a concern, but 15 of them came in his first 16 outings, including a pair of three-walk innings. He posted a 23-to-4 strikeout-to-walk ratio over his final 22 innings.
Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris has a brief history with Miller, having signed him to a Minor League deal in June 2022 during Harris’ final months as Giants general manager. Harris had joined the Tigers by the time San Francisco called up Miller that September. The Dodgers signed Miller to a one-year, $1.5 million deal last winter.
Miller becomes the second veteran signed to the Tigers bullpen this month, joining left-hander Andrew Chafin. He’ll give the Tigers another right-handed middle relief option alongside Will Vest and Beau Brieske in support of late-inning relievers Jason Foley and Alex Lange. Detroit’s righty relief corps returns mainly intact, but veteran righty José Cisnero became a free agent at season’s end and remains unsigned. Brendan White had an up-and-down rookie season, but the Tigers like his pitches and potential.
An effective Miller could allow the Tigers to explore different uses for Brieske, who debuted with Detroit as a starter in 2022 before moving into the bullpen last season, as well as former first-round pick Alex Faedo.