Miller joins Indians, ready to contribute in any role

It wasn’t cheap as the Indians are sending top prospect Clint Frazier, second ranked pitching prospect Justus Sheffield (initially supposed to be heading to the Brewers in the vetoed Jonathan Lucroy trade), and two relievers with high expectations, Ben Heller and J.P. Feyereisen, to NY in exchange for the 31-year old Miller, who is signed through 2018 for $9 million per season. I think we’ve tried to be consistent with that and we talk about that all the time. I remember telling him, ‘Hey man, we’re going to simplify.

Lucroy said Sunday he wasn’t going to go into the details behind his decision. The Indians and Brewers reportedly reached an agreement late Saturday night with a four-prospect package. Milwaukee general manager David Stearns says the Brewers will move on after Lucroy refused to waive the no-trade provision in his contract. Maybe they even have a chance to bring a title to Cleveland. We lost a true leader and a good friend for me.

Minor league pitchers Justus Sheffield, Ben Heller and J.P. Feyereisen also came to the Yankees in the deal.

The Indians, who now lead the AL Central, included two of their top three minor league players in the deal for Miller.

“I’m not sure there is a better fit for our bullpen than Andrew”, said Indians President of Baseball Operations Chris Antonetti. “It is why we engage with multiple teams throughout the entirety of the negotiation”. Dellin Betances inherits the closer’s role, and Miller and Girardi both expressed confidence in him. “I’m not going to change one bit, whatever they ask me to do, hopefully do it up to their standards”. If Francona can get the game to seventh where his relievers can be lights out, there’s no telling how far this team can go. But the lineup’s great.

After trading Miller, they made a 1 for 1 deal with the Arizona Diamondbacks, acquiring Tyler Clippard for Jose Vicente Campos, a 23 year old right handed starting pitcher now playing in AAA. The Indians were one of eight teams on Lucroy’s no-trade clause and there apparently was an issue he had with them regarding Lucroy’s request to have the Indians remove the option year for 2017 which would have made Lucroy a free agent.

The MLB trade deadline has now come and gone, and this year we saw something a little different from the Bronx bombers. Campos, 24, is 9-3 with a 3.20 ERA this year in 20 combined starts for Class AA Trenton and Class AAA Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Miller had a lifetime ERA of 4.35, but in each of the last six years, he has not had a season ERA over 3.35.

Seattle received left-hander Ariel Miranda in the trade. He spent most of June on the disabled list with a strained left hamstring. He appeared in one game for Baltimore on July 3 at Seattle, giving up three runs and four hits in two innings.

Miley, 29, was selected by Arizona with the 43rd pick in the 2008 amateur draft and made his major league debut with the Diamondbacks in 2011.

The NL West-leading Giants have struggled mightily since the All-Star break and had been looking to upgrade a relief corps that has been so reliable in recent years, helping them win World Series championships in 2010, ’12 and ’14.

The Boston Red Sox have acquired left-handed reliever Fernando Abad from the Minnesota Twins for minor-league pitcher Pat Light. The Cardinals gave up minor league outfielder Charlie Tilson in the trade.

Regardless of role, the Indians now own one of the best 1-2 combinations in the game, along with Bryan Shaw in front of them.

Early in his career he was a starter for Detroit and the Miami (then-Florida) Marlins.

This season, the 31-year-old is on pace for the best year of his career.