Today: The Brewers sent Miller outright to the Triple-A Nashville Sounds, according to his transaction log on MLB.com. He's never been fired before, and doesn't have the MLB service time required to turn down an outright assignment, so he'll stay in the organization and report to Nashville.
July 1: The Brewers announced that outfielder Garrett Mitchell He was placed on the 60-day disabled list, along with an infielder Tyler Black selected to place Mitchell on the active roster, a move that was reportedly set to happen yesterday. To open a 40-man spot, a player who plays football Owen Miller selected for assignment.
Miller, 27, has been a Brewer since December 2022. That month, he came from the Guardian to a job that sent cash or PTBNL to Cleveland. Last year, he served as a serviceable depth piece by hitting .261/.303/.371 in 90 games for the Brewers around regular optional assignments, throwing to multiple defensive positions.
This year, he's been in that role but his numbers have dropped off significantly, as he's currently sporting a .185/.185/.222 slash line on the year. To be fair, that came in just 27 plate appearances during three picks this year. In 195 games for Triple-A this year, he hit .259/.344/.382. That's still subpar, resulting in a wRC+ of 90, but it's more respectable than a small sample of work at the major league level.
His time on the roster may have been coming to an end regardless, as he is in his final year and will be out of options next year. That will give him less flexibility going forward and the Brewers need a roster spot today, so he was taken out of his spot early.
Now they will have a week to trade Miller or move him off waivers. Perhaps some club in need of depth will be interested, as Miller can still be hidden in the minors until the end of this season. He has spent time at all four infield positions as well as the outfield corners, so he can provide the club with all types of defense. He hit just .239/.287/.345 in his major league career, which translates to a 76 wRC+, but mostly in temporary roles.
He hit .305/.368/.450 in the minors from 2018 to 2021, before reaching the majors and entering the down-and-out period he's been in the past few seasons. That probably leaves hope that his bat is better than it has been lately. He has between two and three years of major league service and could be retained after this season if he has a roster spot somewhere.
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