Alec

Mills

Mills passed through waivers unclaimed after being designated for assignment last weekend and will remain with the Reds as extra organizational depth.

Mills allowed two earned runs against the Padres on Sunday and was moved off the roster on Sunday. There is a chance he passes through wavier and remains as organizational depth for the Reds.

Mills will be available to give the Reds some length out of the pen tonight. After missing the first two months of the season, he had allowed three runs over six innings in two appearances for Louisville.

Mills was limited to just seven appearances (two starts) last year for the Cubs due to back and quad issues, finishing with a bloated 9.68 ERA, 1.76 WHIP and 11/3 K/BB ratio across 17 2/3 innings. The 31-year-old righty made a career-high 32 appearances (20 starts) the previous season and should gobble up plenty of innings at Triple-A Louisville moving forward. He’s merely emergency pitching depth at this stage of his career.

Mills missed most of 2022 with a back injury that required surgery in September. He’ll become a free agent, but he’ll probably have to settle for a minor league deal this winter. The 30-year-old is 12-14 with a 4.95 ERA in 39 starts and 30 relief appearances in his major league career.

The procedure involved the removal of a portion of a disc in his back. It’s not clear how long his rehab will take, but obviously Mills’ season is over.

The Cubs needed to free up a spot on the 40-man roster for the return of Manuel Rodríguez on Friday, so moving Mills to the 60-day IL made the most sense. He has been sidelined since early July due to a lower back strain and is currently rehabbing at the team’s spring training facility in Arizona.

Mills has been sidelined since early July due to a lower back strain and will continue his rehabilitation process in Arizona. There isn’t a timetable for his return at the moment and it’s unclear whether he’ll be able to make it back later this season. The 30-year-old righty missed the opening three months of this season due to a similar back issue and also missed additional time due to a right quad injury.

Mills will miss some time after he was forced to leave Saturday’s game with lower back pain. He recorded just one out in the contest before exiting.

Mills got just one out before being pulled from the contest. The left-hander will likely be evaluated again before Sunday, and a trip to the injured list is a very real possibility.