While officially welcoming righthander Matt Clement to the fold last night, the Red Sox moved quickly to add another arm to their refashioned pitching rotation, coming to terms with former Astros righthander Wade Miller on a low-cost, one-year contract that contains some risk because of injury but could result in a phenomenal windfall: The 28-year-old Miller, winner of 45 games in a three-year period, was one of the best young pitchers in the National League before injuring the rotator cuff in his pitching shoulder last season.
Miller next to pitch in
Sox sign former Astros righthander for one year
The Red Sox, who attempted to trade for Miller during the winter meetings and swooped in to sign him as soon as the Astros did not tender him a contract two nights ago, are willing to gamble on a pitcher whose diving sinker has been favorably compared to that of former Houston star Mike Scott, but whose 2004 season ended after just 15 starts because of fraying in his rotator cuff.
In a deal expected to be announced today, the Sox will give Miller a $1.5 million base salary while offering him an additional $3 million in performance bonuses tied to his workload and his ability to remain healthy. Because they were in trade talks with the Astros, the Sox already had examined Miller's medical records before administering a physical exam to the pitcher yesterday, and are optimistic that Miller, whose condition required rest and rehabilitation instead of surgery, will come into spring training with a chance to start the 2005 season.
Miller is scheduled to resume throwing the first week of January, and while there is a possibility that he will have a recurrence of the shoulder problems that cut short his season June 29, and might require arthroscopic surgery, the club made the move to sign a premier pitcher at below-market value (he was paid $3.4 million last season and healthy might have doubled that in salary arbitration) in hopes that he will regain the form that made him Houston's Opening Day starter in 2002 after he won 16 games the year before.
The Sox also were close to striking a deal for disappointing righthander Byung Hyun Kim, mulling offers from at least two National League teams in which they would eat much of Kim's $6 million salary in 2005, while also picking through offers for both of their first basemen, Kevin Millar and Doug Mientkiewicz, one of whom almost certainly will be traded. They continue to talk daily with agent Scott Boras about free agent catcher Jason Varitek, who has until Jan. 8 to re-sign with the club, with the expectation that they will ultimately strike a deal that will keep Varitek in Boston.
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