After the Yankees stuck to their demand for Kyle Schwarber, the Cubs moved on from lefty Andrew Miller, and wound up putting together a deal for Aroldis Chapman. At that point, it seemed a pretty fair guess that Miller wouldn’t be going anywhere, seemingly confirmed by rumors last night that the Nationals were willing to part with top pitching prospect (as in, the top pitching prospect in baseball to many) Lucas Giolito, and the Yankees wouldn’t even do that.
But, apparently, teams are still trying to make it happen:
Other teams continue to talk to the Yankees about Andrew Miller, although asking price very high. Two teams w/need+ assets: HOU + St. Louis
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) July 31, 2016
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To be sure, Olney is not necessarily saying that the Cardinals (and Astros) are pursuing Miller. But “teams” are, he mentions the Cardinals, and we know that the Cardinals have been trying to pick up a back-end reliever.
The question is, how would we feel about the Cardinals landing Miller?
On the one hand, Miller is ridiculously awesome, is under control for two more years after this one, and inarguably would be an impact upgrade for the Cardinals. On the other hand, the Yankees wanted a Kyle-Schwarber-level return to move Miller. They reportedly said no to Lucas Giolito. Just try to put together a successful package for Miller using Cardinals youngsters, and it becomes virtually impossible to do it with prospects alone (Alex Reyes plus plus?). That means a deal would likely be pulling from the Cardinals’ young positional core at the big league level, so maybe that wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world?
Of course, even still, it’s hard to see a deal that works for both sides. Kolten Wong and Randal Grichuk have struggled mightily this year. The Cardinals aren’t trading Stephen Piscotty. Tommy Pham and Greg Garcia don’t seem super exciting.
This is mostly a thought experiment, though it does have realistic roots. I don’t think the Cardinals will actually make a serious play for Miller, though I do expect them to try very hard to add another bullpen arm before the deadline passes tomorrow.[adinserter block=”2″]
