Wade Miley #36 of the Arizona Diamondbacks reacts after walking Andrew Susac (not pictured) of the San Francisco Giants with the bases loaded to allow Angel Pagan (not pictured) to score a run during the first inning at AT&T Park on September 9, 2014 in San Francisco, California.
As we learned on Wednesday, the Boston Red Sox acquired Wade Miley from the Arizona Diamondbacks for a Rubby De La Rosa, Allen Webster and a minor leaguer. Today, the Red Sox made it official.
Here’s the release:
BOSTON, MA – The Boston Red Sox today made two separate transactions:
Acquired All-Star left-handed pitcher Wade Miley from the Arizona Diamondbacks in exchange for right-handed pitchers Rubby De La Rosa and Allen Webster and minor league infielder Raymel Flores.
Acquired right-handed pitcher Zeke Spruill from the Diamondbacks in exchange for minor league right-handed pitcher Myles Smith.
Executive Vice President/General Manager Ben Cherington made the announcements.
Miley, 28, was the Diamondbacks’ 2014 Opening Day starter in Sydney, Australia. Last year, he led the team and ranked among NL leaders with 183 strikeouts (12th) and 201.1 innings pitched (13th). He went 8-12 with a 4.34 ERA, including a 3.53 mark over his final nine starts of the season and a 3.17 ERA in 17 road starts. His 33 starts overall tied for the lead among NL left-handers, one shy of the major league lead.
In 2014, Miley ranked ninth among major league lefties with a career-best 8.2 strikeouts per nine innings. Among NL left-handers, only Clayton Kershaw (239), Madison Bumgarner (219), and Cole Hamels (198) totaled more strikeouts.
Miley tied for the 2014 NL lead in no-decisions (13), with 23 of his 33 starts decided by one or two runs. He placed ninth among National Leaguers in ground ball-to-fly ball ratio (1.99).
His 66 starts over the last two seasons are the most in the majors by a left-handed pitcher and trail only right-handers R.A. Dickey (68), James Shields (68), and Chris Tillman (67) overall. He is the only lefty pitcher, and one of only six major leaguers overall, to make at least 33 starts in both 2013 and 2014.
In 2012, Miley was named a National League All-Star and The Sporting News’ NL Rookie of the Year, finishing second in Baseball Writers’ Association of America voting to Washington’s Bryce Harper. That year he tied for sixth in the National League in wins (16-11), ranked 10th in ERA (with a 3.33), and posted the league’s fifth-best walk rate (1.7 walks per nine innings).
A supplemental first-round selection by Arizona in the 2008 June Draft (48th overall), the native of Hammond, Louisiana is 38-35 with a 3.79 ERA and 499 strikeouts over 102 starts and four relief appearances in his four-year major league career.
In 337.0 career innings on the road, Miley owns a 3.31 ERA and a .258 opponent batting average. He has the majors’ eighth-lowest rate of home runs allowed (0.69 home runs per nine innings) in away games since 2011 (min. 250.0 IP).
In his three full major league seasons, from 2012-14, the only NL left-handers with more wins than Miley’s 34 are Kershaw (51), Bumgarner (47), and Gio Gonzalez (42). In that time, he has produced 56 ground ball double plays, third most in the NL.
Spruill, 25, went 1-1 with a 3.57 ERA (9 ER/22.2 IP) with 14 strikeouts and four walks in six outings (1 start) over three major league stints for the Diamondbacks in 2014, his second straight season appearing in the big leagues. He had been designated for assignment on Monday.
A native of Chesapeake, VA, Spruill spent the majority of 2014 with the Diamondbacks’ Triple-A Reno affiliate, going 3-7 with a 6.04 ERA and 71 strikeouts in 79.0 innings over 28 outings (11 starts). He also made three rehab appearances for the Rookie-level Arizona League Diamondbacks while on the disabled list with a strained right elbow. After returning from the DL on August 8, he posted a 2.16 ERA with 20 strikeouts in 16.2 innings over his final 10 regular season appearances for Reno, all in relief. He then pitched to a 2.70 ERA (4 ER/13.1 IP) over four major league relief appearances for the Diamondbacks during September.
In 2013, Spruill combined for a 3.49 ERA in 21 starts between Double-A Mobile and Reno, and also made his major league debut with six outings for Arizona. It was his first year with the Diamondbacks organization after being acquired from the Atlanta Braves as part of a seven-player trade in January of that year.
A second-round selection by Atlanta in the 2008 June Draft, Spruill is 47-50 with a 3.85 ERA in 156 games (126 starts) over parts of seven minor league seasons. As a Braves farmhand, he was named a mid-season minor league All-Star in the Single-A South Atlantic League in 2009 and the Double-A Southern League in 2012.
De La Rosa and Webster were both acquired by the Red Sox as part of the nine-player trade that sent first baseman Adrian Gonzalez, right-handed pitcher Josh Beckett, and outfielder Carl Crawford to the Los Angeles Dodgers on August 25, 2012.
Over his two seasons of major league service with Boston (2013-14), De La Rosa went 4-10 with a 4.54 ERA (57 ER/113.0 IP), 37 walks, and 80 strikeouts in 30 games (18 starts). The 25-year-old Dominican native had two stints with the Red Sox last season, over which he set career highs in games (19), starts (18), and strikeouts (74). He had eight quality starts in 2014, and allowed one run or none in six of his starts which was the second-highest total on the staff behind Jon Lester (eight). De La Rosa has gone 8-15 with a 4.34 ERA (84 ER/174.1 IP), 70 walks, and 140 strikeouts in 44 career major league games (28 starts) between the Dodgers (2011-12) and Red Sox. The right-handed pitcher was originally signed by the Dodgers as an international free agent in 2007.
This past season with Boston, Webster pitched to a 5-3 record with a 5.03 ERA (33 ER/59.0 IP), 28 walks, and 36 strikeouts in 11 games, all starts. He spent the majority of his season with Triple-A Pawtucket where he appeared in 21 games, making 20 starts, and posted a 2.90 ERA (38 ER/118.0 IP) in those outings. After the 2014 season, Baseball America rated him as the No. 8 pitching prospect in the International League. For his major league career, he has gone 6-5 with a 6.25 ERA (62 ER/89.1 IP), 46 walks, and 59 strikeouts in 19 games, all with the Red Sox. Webster was originally an 18th-round selection of the Dodgers in the 2008 June Draft.
Flores, 20, spent the 2014 season with the Short-A Lowell Spinners, batting .282 (58-for-206) with six doubles, three triples, a home run, 12 RBI, 16 walks, 31 runs scored, and 14 stolen bases in 61 games. The switch-hitting Dominican native appeared at second base (47 games) and shortstop (11 games) last season and ranked among club leaders in games (3rd), runs (3rd), hits (3rd), triples (T-3rd, 3), walks (3rd), stolen bases (2nd, 14), and sacrifice bunts (1st, 6). Signed by Boston as an international free agent in July 2011, he has hit .246 (118-for-479) with 14 doubles, 15 triples, one home run, 43 RBI, and 28 stolen bases in 148 career minor league games in the Red Sox farm system over the last three seasons.
Smith, 22, spent last season with Single-A Greenville, going 5-10 with one save, a 5.82 ERA (67 ER/103.2 IP), 73 strikeouts, and 62 walks allowed in 26 outings, including 12 starts. Signed by Boston as a fourth-round selection in the 2013 June Draft, he appeared in 31 minor league games in the Red Sox system over the last two seasons, with 17 starts and 14 relief outings, and went 5-10 with one save and a 5.43 ERA (69 ER/114.1 IP).
With these transactions, Boston’s 40-man roster is now at 39.
photo credit: getty images
