Mariners trade Wade Miley to Orioles for AAA lefty Ariel Miranda
Jul 31, 2016, 3:44 PM | Updated: Aug 1, 2016, 1:26 am
The Mariners have traded lefty pitcher Wade Miley to Baltimore after his strong outing Saturday. (AP)
(AP)
The Mariners have traded left-handed pitcher Wade Miley to the Baltimore Orioles for Ariel Miranda, a 27-year-old southpaw currently in Triple-A.
Miley is coming off one of his best starts of the year on Saturday, taking a no-hitter into the seventh inning in a 4-1 win over the MLB-leading Cubs. He struck out a season-high nine batters and allowed just one run on one hit and one walk.
Acquired in an offseason trade from Boston, Miley has struggled for much of the season with Seattle. He is 7-8 with a 4.98 ERA, 1.35 WHIP, 82 strikeouts and 34 walks this year, but he has pitched better since returning in late June from a stint on the disabled list for a left shoulder impingement. Over five starts in July, he had a 3.45 ERA and racked up four quality starts.
Rumors began circulating this weekend that the Orioles had interest in the 29-year-old southpaw (the Tigers were also said to have inquired about his services), so news of the trade was no surprise to Miley.
A Cuban export, Miranda has made one career MLB appearance – ironically against the Mariners, giving up three runs on four hits but struck out four over two innings. He pitched in the Cuban National Series for seven years before leaving the country. He is 4-7 with a 3.93 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, 87 strikeouts and 31 walks in 19 starts (100 2/3 innings) for Triple-A Norfolk this year.
Miranda will report to Triple-A Tacoma.
The deal gives the Mariners considerable salary relief, as Miley is in the second year of a three-year, $19.25 million contract, although according to reports Seattle will be sending some money to Baltimore to help offset the two players’ salaries.
This move was the third significant trade in recent weeks for the Mariners. They dealt Joaquin Benoit to Toronto for Drew Storen in a swap of struggling veteran relievers on Wednesday, and they sent pitcher Mike Montgomery and minor-league arm Jordan Pries to the Cubs a week prior to that for a pair of prospects: slugging first baseman Dan Vogelbach and right-handed pitcher Paul Blackburn.
