Hey, guys – because the Orioles acquired Wade Miley in a trade today, I’m suddenly an expert on him. No really, just ask me. I’ll tell you. Because of this new skill, I’m here to share some expert opinions:

 

1. He is sinister.

 
Wade Miley throws a baseball with his left hand. I presume that he also eats and writes this way, but my sudden expertise has its limits. The Orioles rotation, as you know, has not included a lefty all season. And this is why it has been terrible. Had only the likes of Ubaldo Jimenez, Mike Wright, and Tyler Wilson been accompanied by a southpaw, they would have dominated the league. The O’s, per usual, are late to the game in correcting this mistake, but just because a thing is delayed does not mean it is denied.

 

2. His name is not Ubaldo Jimenez.

 
Putting it politely, the Orioles’ starting rotation has been a dumpster fire, for much of the season. Chris Tillman has been the only consistent(ly competent) starter. Kevin Gausman and Yovani Gallardo will turn in enough good starts to round out the top of the rotation, but the bottom has been criminally bad. The bar has been set so low that Miley cannot help but slither over it. Over at FanGraphs, Jeff Sullivan put it best:

The rotation has been bad behind Chris Tillman — so bad that Wade Miley is an improvement. There aren’t many contending teams that Miley would make meaningfully better, but that’s the Orioles’ burden and blessing.

 

3. He likes to compete.

 
Dan Duquette said so. Well… he texted the beat writers this. Roch Kubatko, in this afternoon’s post covering the trade provides the full quote:

Wade Miley is a workhorse veteran left-handed starter who likes to pitch and compete. We think he will contribute to this year’s club with some quality innings.

In classic “fans are going to love David Lough” fashion, the Orioles’ newest acquisition got the public vote of… something… from the guy who acquired him.  I’m sold, how about you?

 

4. He is not a rental.

 
Wiley is under club control through 2018. He’s set to make about $6MM this year, $9MM next year, and has a $12MM option for 2018. So, there’s a chance that he becomes useful over the next couple of seasons. This is a rotation that could use “just average” starting, and Wiley may very well be able to provide that. Even at his $12MM price tag in 2018, the Orioles may come away with good value for the player. Then again, we heard this same argument with Jimenez, and pitching for the Orioles tends to ruin people, so…

He’s either an asset or an albatross for the foreseeable future.

 

5. He didn’t cost much.

 
The Orioles don’t have the prospects to compete for the top tier of available starting pitching. Instead, they sent Ariel Miranda. Miranda is not a real prospect. He may not be useless, but even the Orioles can find guys like him to stock their minor league system. Miranda has a sub-four ERA in 19 starts for Norfolk, and has already been optioned to Seattle’s AAA affiliate in Tacoma. We may not be excited to get Wiley, but we shouldn’t be upset that we parted with too much.

 

6. The Mariners seem to have forgotten that trading with the Orioles is a bad idea.