http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/front/2956553 Dec. 20, 2004, 8:25PM Astros decide not to offer Miller contract Rigthander who missed majority of 2004 season with injury becomes free agent By JOSE DE JESUS ORTIZ Copyright 2004 Houston Chronicle Afraid they might have to pay Wade Miller more than $3.4 million in arbitration, the Astros decided against tendering him a contract tonight, making the righthander a free agent. The Astros have until 11 p.m. tonight to tender a contract to their arbitration-eligible players, and they have decided to tender contracts to all of their arbitration-eligible players except Miller, who did not pitch after June 25 because of a frayed right rotator cuff. The Astros tendered contracts to Lance Berkman, Roy Oswalt Pete Munro, Tim Redding, Brandon Duckworth and Mike Lamb, keeping their rights. Miller will come off the 40-man roster and become a free agent. "There's a chance somebody could come out of it with a very productive pitcher and probably an equal chance that somebody could come out of it with an injured pitcher," Astros general manager Tim Purpura said. Miller, 28, went 7-7 with a 3.35 ERA over 88 2/3 innings in 15 starts in 2004. He was placed on the disabled list on June 29 and missed the remainder of the season. Miller first reached the majors in 1999 with the Astors. He has a career record of 58-39 with a 3.87 ERA, including seasons of at least 14 wins from 2001-03. The Astros also tendered contracts to all other unsigned members of the club's 40-man roster who are not eligible for salary arbitration for the 2005 season. Berkman, 28, hit .316 with 30 home runs and 106 RBI in 2004. A three-time All-Star, Berkman has hit .303 (814-for-2,683) with 156 home runs and 535 RBIs in 775 career games for the Astros from 1999-2004. Lamb, 29, hit .288 with a career-high 14 home runs and 58 RBI in 2004. Lamb started games at four different positions for the Astros and was acquired from the Yankees on March 25. Duckworth, 28, was acquired from Philadelphia in November of 2003. He finished 2004 with a 1-2 record and a 6.86 ERA. Oswalt, 27, recorded his first 20-win season and led the NL in wins in 2004. He finished 20-10 with a 3.49 ERA, allowing 92 earned runs over 237 innings in 36 games (35 starts). Redding, 26, finished 5-7 with a 5.72 ERA in 27 games (17 starts).
Miller's shoulder injury must have been alot more serious than any of us knew or, is not progressing like the Astros had hoped/thought. If not, then 3.4 MIL should have been worth the risk of him returning to form IMO>
I dont think they can resign him till April or May. I not sure exacltly but when they dont tender a player the earliest they can resign him is after the season starts. So basicly he is gone and the Astros cant resign him.
Where then will we spend the money that we will save by not signing them? We could still build something special, I know the free agent market is getting smaller but we could make trades based on the money that we have available.
I think they passed on Miller so they could have more money for Beltran. If that is the case it is not a bad deal, considering Miller could be damaged good.
So we go into next year with the Roy O and Pettitte combo at the top. And 3 question marks. I like Backe, but would prefer to have another option in front of him. This is quite an offseason for Purpura to take the reins.
Everything i read and talked to people in the Astros organization, they all stated that it was mainly because of the shoulder injury he has. He hasn't got his rotator cuff surgically repared and just wanted to reahab it which didn't really fix the problem at all. He hasn't scheduled to get it fixed with surgery so there is a big risk to sign him and injure it further leaving him unable to pitch again for the season.
Good bye to a fine pitcher. Go to Boston and beat the Yanks, young man. Go AL (you're too good to face 'stros).
I have to think that Miller's injury is quite serious. Otherwise I can't understand this decision. You don't just let a good young pitcher walk out. This guy's best years are still ahead of him.
So does this mean we might get nothing for him? If so, the Stros really dropped the ball on this one. (Unless, of course, the other GMs knew he was damaged goods and wouldn't trade for him.)
How many players is it going to take for us to lose before Carlos Beltran decides that Houston is not going to be a competitive team?
obviously the astros know more about his shoulder then anyone here but i hope that's the ONLY reason they didn't give him an offer. if he goes to another team next year and pitched like he can when healthy i'll be pissed.
Young guy, sub-4 era, winning record, A+ arm, good size. This will come back to haunt the Stros almost as much as letting Hunsicker go. They've really screwed the pooch with this move.
cause you know exactly what was up with his shoulder, right? These guys are running a team. This is real money. They can't just throw it around, especially when making other big decisions like Beltran. Giving lower contracts to guys like Duckworth is fine, but obviously Miller wouldn't take one because he knew his arbitration figure would be higher.
sad to see him go. i wish he was a 100% healthy cause i enjoyed watching him pitch and a 100% wade miller would give the astros a good rotation, even without clemens.
it's not done yet, guys. just because he wasn't tendered an offer doesn't mean he won't be back...for better or for worse.
