Cubs Rumors: Andrew Miller close to joining St. Louis Cardinals

Cubs Rumors: Cardinals bring in a coveted left-handed reliever

The Chicago Cubs’ primary left-handed reliever last season, Justin Wilson, is still searching for a new home in free agency. With Mike Montgomery and Randy Rosario left as the southpaws in the pen, it seems inevitable Theo Epstein will add left-handed relief depth in some form.

According to Jeff Passan (Twitter), though, Andrew Miller will not be one of those additions. The veteran left-hander is reportedly close to a multi-year deal with the St. Louis Cardinals, helping shore up a relief corps that put up the fourth-worst ERA (4.38) in the National League in 2018.

Now, whether or not Miller will perform as the shutdown lefty we saw for much of his time in New York and Cleveland remains to be seen. He wasn’t the same guy last year, pitching to an inflated 4.24 ERA, 3.51 FIP and 8.2 H/9. But St. Louis is banking that he can recapture some of his dominance – and they may be right to do so.

If he’s healthy, Andrew Miller is one of the best relievers in baseball. From 2013 to 2016, the lefty put up a 1.93 earned run average, a 217 ERA+, 1.95 FIP and 0.856 WHIP across 240 appearances.

This move puts the rest of the National League Central on notice. The Cardinals are ready to put their three-year playoff drought to rest in 2018 – and Miller will be a big part of accomplishing that mission.