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The Texas Rangers have claimed righthanded pitcher Tyson Miller on waivers from the Chicago Cubs, the team announced today. To make room for Miller on the 40 man roster, the Rangers have transferred Hunter Wood from the 10 day to the 60 day injured list.
Miller, 25, was a 4th round pick of the Cubs in the 2016 draft out of California Baptist University, selected five picks after the Rangers drafted Charles Leblanc. Miller had a good 2019 season in AA, putting up a 2.56 ERA in 88 innings over 15 starts for AA Tennessee before hitting a wall in AAA Iowa, where he had a 7.58 ERA in 11 starts. Still, the Cubs saw enough to protect him in the Rule 5 Draft that offseason, and he was ranked 12th in the Cubs season by BA heading into 2020.
Miller spent the 2020 season at the Alternate Training Site for the Cubs, and got into a pair of games in the majors in 2020. For whatever reason, he dropped down to #27 on the Cubs’ BA list after the 2020 season.
Miller started the 2021 season on the COVID-19 list, and has appeared in three games this season for AAA Iowa, allowing 3 runs on five hits and two walks in 5.1 IP, striking out 6. The Des Moines Register had a story on him just a few days ago, right before he got designated for assignment.
Miller is a big (6’4”) righthander whose profile as been swingman or perhaps a potential back end starter, though obviously the back end starter projections appear to have faded, given that he ended up as a waiver claim. Still, with the Rangers being in a position where they had a 40 man roster spot available, he’s someone they can take a look at in Round Rock and potentially shuffle up and down if they need someone in the bullpen or in a spot starting role who can give them multiple innings, though he could just as easily be back on the waiver wire in a few weeks if and when the Rangers need to open up another 40 man roster spot (just ask Jack Kruger about that).
Hunter Wood, meanwhile, moves to the 60 day injured list with what John Blake described as a “mild UCL sprain.” The initial sense when Wood went on the injured list was that he wouldn’t be back for a while, and this would seem to confirm that.