Before Saturday’s pre-season opener, Torey Lovullo, manager of the Arizona Diamondbacks, told Venom Strikes that Shelby Miller, his starting pitcher, right now “is on a good place.”
That could easily be a huge relocation from the purgatory Miller existed for most of the last season. Many believed Miller’s acquisition from the Atlanta Braves during the 2015-16 off-season was achieved at a high cost. The Diamondbacks traded Ender Inciarte, a defensive outfielder whose metrics was recorded with saving runs and Dansby Swanson, a former number one pick overall, and now the Braves starting shortstop, for Miller.
Arriving in the desert amid high expectations, Miller did not reach close to the hype generated by the trade.