The Rockies have re-signed Owen Miller to a minor league deal, a move reflected in his transactions tracker at MLB.com. He has already reported to Triple-A Albuquerque and played for the Isotopes yesterday.
Miller, 28, was acquired from the Brewers in the offseason. He had been outrighted by Milwaukee last year, so he gave the Rockies some non-roster depth to start the season. He was selected up to the majors in late April. He got into nine games and stepped to the plate 17 times, hitting .143/.294/.143. He was designated for assignment a couple of weeks ago. He cleared outright waivers for the second time in his career, which gave him the right to elect free agency, but he has circled back to the Rockies on a fresh minor league deal.
He hasn’t been able to do much with his big league opportunities so far, having also spent time with the Guardians before becoming a Brewer. He now has a .238/.287/.342 career line in 1,032 big league plate appearances, production which translates to a 75 wRC+. But he has bounced around to all four infield spots and the outfield corners. He also has 18 steals in 20 attempts.
His minor league offense has naturally been better than his major league work. He has a .279/.354/.427 line and 106 wRC+ at the Triple-A level dating back to the start of the 2021 season. He could perhaps serve as a useful utility piece if he could provide something close to that in the majors. For now, he’ll try to get in a good groove with the Isotopes and earn his way back to the show.
Photo courtesy of Kelley L Cox, Imagn Images