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The San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers have checked with the Atlanta Braves on the availability of Shelby Miller, according to ESPN.com.
These National League West rivals are gunning for the same starting pitcher and the Braves are willing to listen to any offers. The 25-year-old is up for arbitration and only made $535,000 this season. Despite the low-end salary, the Braves want a lot for the right-hander. The Arizona Diamondbacks reportedly were in negotiations for Miller, but the Braves wanted A.J. Pollock in return, and the deal was done there. The Dodgers and Giants might have to give up young, major league talent to acquire Miller.
Since Shelby Miller's name first emerged in the trade market, the Giants and Dodgers have checked in on his availability.
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) November 19, 2015
Miller had a quality season with a 3.02 ERA across 205 1/3 innings pitched. It was his first season in Atlanta after spending his first three years in the league with the St. Louis Cardinals. In two years as a start in St. Louis, he had a 25-18 record with a 3.06 and then 3.74 ERA. The starting pitcher made his first All-Star team this season even though he had a career-worst 17 losses. It wasn’t because he pitched badly, but it was more because of the lack of run-support. Miller would probably love the opportunity to pitch alongside Clayton Kershaw in L.A. and Madison Bumgarner in San Fran along with much better offenses and teams in general.
The Dodgers are coming off a 92-win season and their third straight NL West crown. They could very well be without Zack Greinke in the starting rotation after his dominant season. The team they always have to worry about in the division is the Giants. If they can acquire Miller, it wouldn’t replace Greinke, but it would be a positive replacement. There’s still the possibility that the Giants could be the landing spot for Greinke after he opted out of the final three years of his contract. If the Giants could land the former Dodgers pitcher, it would be make them the favorites to win the division next season. The Dodgers would almost be forced to acquire Miller in an effort to simply keep up with their in-state rival.
