Even before the New York Yankees acquired Aroldis Chapman, fellow reliever Andrew Miller was the subject of trade rumors as the team was hoping to get a young, cost-controlled starter in a deal with another MLB club.
Miller has still been of little focus in trade rumors, but a few recent reports suggest the star left-hander is staying in the Bronx.
"There's practically no chance the Yankees will trade Andrew Miller," writes Jon Heyman, formerly of CBS Sports. "They asked the Astros for Lance McCullers Jr. for Miller, and Houston quickly rebuffed that attempt. They'd want a No. 1 pitcher in a Miller deal."
"It's more likely that the Yankees will keep their uber-bullpen intact rather than trade Miller, according to a major league source," adds Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. "Teams like Houston and Toronto have inquired about Miller, but the Yankees want back a young top-of-the-rotation starter, and that doesn't appear to be available to them. Lance McCullers was the target in Houston, but he is off-limits. The Blue Jays would have to give up someone such as Marcus Stroman, and that's just not happening."
Maybe the Astros would have been willing to move McCullers before they shipped five players to the Philadelphia Phillies in return for closer Ken Giles. Vincent Velasquez was involved in that deal, so it's not too farfetched to think they'd surrender McCullers for three years of Miller, who they made a big offer to last offseason.
However, at this point it's definitely not happening.
And Stroman for Miller? No way. The Blue Jays cannot afford to trade a player of Stroman's caliber and they can make due in the bullpen for now with Roberto Osuna, Aaron Sanchez and Brett Cecil.
As for Cashman's endeavors for a No. 1 starter, they probably won't be fulfilled if Miller is the only player involved in the trade talks. The left-hander is among the best closers in the MLB, but the demand for cost-controlled starters - let alone No. 1 starters - is through the roof. Based on the trade package we saw for Shelby Miller, it's doubtful Miller would be able to bring back such a return, especially since he's under contract for $27 million over the next three years.
But what if the Yankees were to consider a multi-player deal with another club? Specifically their cross-town rivals?
"If only the Mets and Yankees would be willing to take the chance," writes John Harper of the New York Daily News.
"Because wouldn't trading Miller and Brett Gardner for Zack Wheeler, Rafael Montero, and Alejandro De Aza fill important needs for both teams?"
This is an interesting scenario to consider, but it's hard to envision the Mets surrendering three players on the cheap for two players with considerable annual salaries. Miller will make $9 million per season for the next three years and Gardner will take in an average of $13 million per season for the next three years.
The Mets don't necessarily need Wheeler or Montero, both of whom were limited in 2015 due to injuries. The duo of Miller and Jeurys Familia would be great and Gardner joining the outfield with Michael Conforto, Curtis Granderson and Juan Lagares would help the unit's flexibility a lot, but the Mets' reluctance to add to the payroll has been painfully obvious this offseason. The team has a golden opportunity to take the MLB by storm while they have a number of elite pitchers on the cheap, but the team's ownership doesn't seem to care.
So while there's still plenty of time remaining this offseason, don't expect Miller to be dealt unless some other club is willing to give the Yankees a top starter, which at this point seems very unlikely.
