And here it is.
There had been pretty much no movement from the Yankees since the offseason began, and now we get two deals on one day that we can mull over for a little while. We had been hearing about murmurs of the Yankees signing left-handed reliever Andrew Miller; some claimed that the deal would be done by today. And, that was correct:
Andrew Miller has agreed to a 4-year, $36 million deal with the Yankees, according to source involved in negotiations.
— Jack Curry (@JackCurryYES) December 5, 2014Miller had stated that he ideally wanted to sign a four-year deal, and the Yankees gave him just that. Miller was drafted by the Detroit Tigers way back in 2006 (6th overall), and he was part of the blockbuster Miguel Cabrera trade as he was sent to the Marlins. As recently as two years ago he was a failed starter, and then the Red Sox put him in the bullpen in 2012. He pitched well in both 2012 and 2013, but he really established himself as a "lefty-ace" in 2014 as he put up a 2.02 ERA and 1.51 FIP with 14.87 K/9 and 2.3 fWAR. He was very, very good.
This deal is an interesting one, to say the least. We still don't know what the Yankees will do with David Robertson given this move, and that could play a huge role in how we perceive this. Nonetheless, Miller is 29 years old and has no draft pick attached to his signing, so the Yankees could theoretically have a similarly performing bullpen next year for a lesser amount, and they'll still be able to either save the draft pick or use it for another big-ticket free agent signing. $36 million is also not a huge sum of money objectively for the Yankees, and they're definitely able to assume the risk of the possibility of yet another "relief ace" falling apart.
There will plenty of analysis and discussion coming, for sure. Stay tuned.