The Cubs have designated right-hander Tyson Miller for assignment after reinstating him from the 60-day injured list, per Maddie Lee of the Chicago Sun-Times. He had been pitching on a rehab assignment of late but it seems the club didn’t want to add him back to the roster. Since he is out of options, he has been sent into DFA limbo. Their 40-man roster count stays at 40.
Miller, now 29, is a bit of a surprising roster cut. The Cubs acquired him from the Mariners in May of last year, after Seattle had designated him for assignment. But he went on to finish out the year well with the Cubs. Between the two clubs, he finished 2024 with a 2.32 earned run average in 62 innings. He struck out 23% of batters faced and only walked 4.7% of opponents.
He hasn’t yet had a chance to build on that here in 2025. He traveled with the Cubs to Japan but didn’t pitch in the major league portion of the Tokyo Series. He then landed on the IL ahead of domestic Opening Day due to a hip impingement. He was transferred to the 60-day IL in mid-May when Moises Ballesteros was added to the roster.
Miller started a rehab assignment a few weeks ago and has tossed 13 Triple-A innings with a 2.77 ERA. However, his 19% strikeout rate and 15.5% walk rate in that sample are both poor numbers. He’s only been averaging 88.6 miles per hour on his fastball during this rehab, a drop from last year’s 89.6 mph, though that’s perhaps understandable for a guy working back from a long absence.
As mentioned, Miller is out of options. That’s also true for essentially everyone in the Cubs’ bullpen. Of the eight relievers currently on the active roster, Daniel Palencia is the only one who can be optioned to the minors. He has become the club’s closer of late, so he’s not at risk of getting sent down.
Rather than cut anyone currently on the team, the Cubs have decided to cut Miller. He’ll head into DFA limbo, which can last for as long as a week. The waiver process takes 48 hours, so the Cubs could take as long as five days to explore trade interest. Based on the success Miller had last year, it’s possible some other club takes a shot on him, presumably one with a less rigid bullpen construction. He’s still cheap, having not yet qualified for arbitration. Though he’s out of options, he can be controlled for the rest of this season and potentially four more if he sticks somewhere.
Photo courtesy of Darren Yamashita, Imagn Images